Converging Lines
by YetAnotherReader
Summary: AU: Job switch. I saw on tumblr a while ago a post where someone suggested that Jane could be the ME and Maura the Detective. This has not left my mind ever since, so here comes a story! There will be M-rated chapters to come but it's going to be kind of a slow burn. Bear with me and enjoy! R&R if you feel generous ) Disclaimer: I don't own Rizzoli & Isles.
1. Chapter 1

Jane looked at the blonde standing by her side and physically refrained herself from loudly exhaling. She found some kind of satisfaction in a discreet roll of her eyes and bent once again over the corpse lying on the ground.

It was not pretty. She had seen a lot of crime scenes but this one was particularly bloody – a jugular had been cut open – and there were guts spilled – there was one deep cut in the belly. She did not usually mind but, still, this was a little gory for a Thursday early morning.

"His throat was cut by something short and very sharp, maybe a Swiss knife," Jane said, examining with attention the wound on the neck of the victim. "I'd say it was a scalpel."

"You can't possibly know that, Jane."

The tall brunette voluntarily ignored the comment and resumed thinking out loud.

"I'm guessing we'll find traces of a fight when we cut his clothes, possibly ecchymosis on his arms."

"You really shouldn't be guessing."

This time Jane let out a sigh.

"Maur, I'm the Chief Medical Examiner of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and I've been working on dead people for more than ten years. I am allowed to guess. Plus, I'm always right," she added with a grin.

This was something truly odd about Jane Rizzoli. She was an impeccable scientist, with guts. In her profession people usually needed strong facts to support a theory, but Jane was not afraid to form hypotheses. The oddest part was that she had an impressive tendency to be right.

"_Almost_ always," the blonde felt the need to precise.

"Okay, so I was wrong once. Big deal. Still a pretty good record."

"Twice. There was also the time you guessed that that man killed in Boston Common had been hit by a baseball bat."

Jane glared at her.

"To be fair, the crime weapon was a pylon that looked exactly like a baseball bat. I have to admit it was a wild guess, though."

Maura did not say anything more but she beamed a little. Yes, Maura Isles liked being righ.

"Dave,' Jane said, motioning at one of the lab techs "Can you take the body back to the lab? I'm done here."

The technician nodded and executed the order.

Jane turned to Maura.

"I'll process the body as soon as I can."

"Thanks," Maura said.

The ME felt the blank tone in her voice.

"What's wrong, Maur?"

"Nothing."

"Hives," Jane assessed with a finger pointed at the blonde's cleavage.

She did not answer but put a hand flat on her chest.

"Really, Maura, I don't know how you can keep up with the detective job when you can't even lie to me."

"I manage well, thank you."

"I know, I'm not criticizing your abilities," Jane assured with sincerity. "I mean, you were not the youngest Detective of BPD for nothing. Just tell me what's wrong."

"I don't like it when you guess. You cannot be sure of what happened for sure if you don't have all of the evidences and proves."

"I'm allowed to have a hunch."

"You have way too many hunches for my taste."

"I'm sorry about that."

Jane had said that with a soft voice.

Maura looked at her.

"Stop analyzing me," the blonde warned her.

"I wouldn't have to if you told me what is wrong with you."

"Nothing is wrong with me," Maura answered courtly. "I have to get back to work. I'll see you later."

Maura didn't wait for Jane to say goodbye. She turned heels in her designer boots – Jane would never understand how she could wear fancy shoes at the job – and left her standing there to go talk to a suspect.

Jane knew how scientific Maura's methods were and she knew sometimes her habit of guessing drove her friend out of her mind, but it was never a reason for her to be so distant.

The Detective was known as much for her bright intelligence as she was for her mathematical methods that she applied with brilliance to her job. Both made her a great Detective and, however uncommon her ways were, not a single person could have argued that she was bad at what she did.

Because she was good. Possibly one of the best.

Of course, she did not have everyone in her good graces. Being a cop was not a notorious way to make friends and, along her career, she had accumulated a few enemies that would have gladly shortened her time in the Police Force, if only they had something to bring her down. Fortunately enough, Maura was impeccable in everything she did. Of course, nobody is perfect and the Detective, like any other human being, had a few secrets.

Jane cast another at Maura before heading out of the crime scene. There was something wrong with the blonde but she couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was. She would have to find out before it got out of proportions.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** **Thank you so much for all your reviews, follows and favorites! I was not expecting such positive reactions, so thank you very much, you kind souls =)  
Happy reading, I hope you enjoy this (longer) chapter!  
**

"Korsak, you have to stop eating so much."

Korsak raised his head in surprise, not expecting to see the Medical Examiner in the bullpen.

"I need something sweet to calm my nerves, this case is killing me."

"If anything, it's going to make you even more excited," Jane counteracted. "I know it, I'm a doctor."

"A doctor for dead people."

Jane chuckled at the reply of the person who had just entered the room.

"Yes, but a doctor still, Susie."

"I'm never asking you to stitch me up," she grumbled, mostly for herself.

_Because you're scared of me_, Jane thought. She was not called Queen of the Dead for nothing. Sure, she was sometimes cranky and a little bit cold, and sometimes when she yelled she was holding a bone saw. But he brunette liked to believe that the real reason people feared her was because she knew exactly what to do to not leave a fingerprint on a corpse - which meant she was good at her job. She acted as if she hadn't heard the comment, not wanting to make the young Detective uncomfortable.

Susie Chang was a promising recrue. She had been assigned as Maura's partner when Vince Korsak, her partner for years before that, had gotten a promotion from Detective to Sergeant. The short woman's nerdy and humorous personality was a good counterbalance to Maura's seriousness and inability to detect sarcasm.

"You seen Maura?" the ME asked Susie.

"I thought she was downstairs to see you."

"Either we missed each other or she didn't go to the morgue. Thanks, I'm going to call her. Later, guys."

They all waved at her. It was nearly 7:20pm and they were all more than ready to go home.

Jane made her way outside the bullpen and took her cellphone out. She started composing Maura's number but changed her mind and put her phone back in the pocket of her lab scrubs. Five minutes later, she was normally dressed and in her car, turning the key in the ignition.

Maura was sitting at the island of her vast and elegant kitchen, nursing a glass of wine in her hand. She had yet to eat but found herself too wrapped her in her thoughts to do anything but absent-mindedly swirl the ruby-colored liquid and think until her head hurt.

She almost jumped in surprise when she heard a solid knock on her front door. A quick glance at the clock on the oven informed her that it was almost 9:30pm. She had gone home more than two hours ago now, which was when she had come in her kitchen, poured herself some wine and sat in utter silence.

Maura got up and made her way to the door. Just when she was going to look through the keyhole, she heard a familiar voice that inevitably brought a smile on her face.

"Maura? It's me, can you please open the door? I'm freezing."

The blonde turned the key into the lock and opened to find Jane with only a light jacket and a scarf hastily thrown around her neck. The tip of her nose was pinker than usual and she was jumping from one foot to the other to keep herself warm. She had a big brown paper bag in her right hand.

"Why aren't you wearing your coat?" Maura asked.

"I forgot it at the morgue. When I realized it was still hanging there I was already on the other side of town and I didn't want to go back. The heat doesn't work at my place, can I stay here? I brought food," Jane said with her biggest smile.

Maura smiled back. Jane was a good friend and she knew her well.

"I think you want to watch the game on my wide screen."

"Maybe," The ME brushed off " I still brought food."

"Of course you did. Come in, you're going to catch a cold."

"I have an immune system invincible to Boston coldness."

"I am not a doctor but I'd say that it is not possible."

"Well, good thing you're not one. You'd probably constantly be correcting me on scientific facts. Ugh, it would be so annoying."

She entered the house and hooked the arm she had free around Maura's shoulder.

"I'd still like you though," Jane assured her with a squeeze.

"Thank you."

Jane looked at Maura, hiding her concern. The Detective felt the brunette's inquiry look on her.

"Let's eat!" Jane said suddenly, taking her arm back and leaving out the questions she obviously wanted to ask.

Maura took care of the drinks – wine for her, beer for Jane – while the ME heated up the food. They brought then everything to the coffee table in the living room and settled on the couch at their usual spots.

Jane turned the TV on to the sports channel and Maura nibbled at her food while being vaguely aware of the progression of the game. Sometimes the brunette would yell at the screen or insult the referee, a habit she had never been able – and never wanted to – loose. Other than that, the two friends were calm and rather silent.

Maura easily got lost in her thoughts again so she didn't see Jane frequent side looks. She didn't even see when the brunette stopped completely watching the game to focus entirely on her.

"Okay, do you want a hug now or should we talk first?"

It took a few seconds for the Detective to realize Jane was talking to her. She raised her head to find the familiar brown eyes piercing through her.

"You know I don't really like hugs."

"You like _my _hugs."

"Yes, because you're my best friend."

"Come here."

"I don't need a hug."

"I said come here," Jane insisted, shifting her position on the couch so that she was facing her friend.

Maura knew better than to argue with the stubborn Italian. She caved in and scooted closer to the ME until she was close enough to feel her warmth and the faint traces of her perfume. Two strong arms came around her and she instantly let her cheek rest against Jane's shoulder.

The brunette didn't say anything but only wrapped herself around her friend, tracing eight-like patterns on the small of her back. She knew something was eating her up and she also knew Maura would only rarely ask for attention. As her best friend, it was her job to offer her help when the Detective wouldn't ask for it.

It was not easy deciphering Maura's mind. The blonde had a natural tendency to be on her own and distance herself from others. But the two of them had shared years of friendship and had been through rough things together – the side effects of working in a dangerous field like theirs – and the bond they shared had only grown stronger.

When Jane felt that Maura relax, she untangled herself from her.

Maura felt two scarred hands tenderly direct her face to look at their owner's eyes.

"What is it?" Jane asked, every word a promise that she cared and she would help.

Maura could not lie and she knew she could not avoid the subject, not when her best friend was as persistent as she knew her.

"Doyle."

She saw the ME frown.

"Doyle is back?"

"I'm not sure."

"Wait, I thought he was somewhere in Mexico."

"It appears as he would be back."

"Are you sure? How do you know?"

"He left a note for me at my house this morning."

"What? This morning? Why didn't you tell me?" Jane said with no accusation in her voice but genuine concern.

"Because I wanted to talk to him first."

"WHAT?"

"I couldn't call him however. The last number he gave me isn't working anymore."

"Of course it's not working anymore, the feds erased it," the ME said with an unfeigned exasperation. "You wanted to call him? Maura, are you crazy? You are not supposed to contact him, you are not even supposed to know where he is."

"Neither are you."

"I'm your best friend, I have to know this kind of things so that I prevent you from doing anything irrational. You're diverting. Why is he back?"

"I don't know," Maura answered truthfully. "Maybe he has some business to do here."

"He better not because he's not even supposed to be on the US ground."

Maura shrugged.

"Maura."

It sounded like a warning. Maura knew Jane was getting angry.

"Maura."

This time Jane's voice was softer. The Detective looked up into the brunette's eyes.

"How could you still want to see him? He tried to take you aware from me. Hell, he tried to kill me."

"He's my father."

The brunette grew silent at this, taken somewhat aback.

"We are not having this discussion again," Jane said, rubbing her face with her hands and sighing.

Maura scooted a little farther from her.

"No, we are not."

The ME looked at the blonde through her open hands.

"What do you mean?" the brunette asked, dropping her hands in her lap with a look of disapproval.

"I am not asking for your opinion, Jane. I know what your position is on the matter and you know how I feel about it."

Jane shook her head and snorted.

"You're going to go see him, aren't you?"

Her eyes were piercing holes through Maura's face.

"I think it's better for the both of us I don't answer this question."

"What… Maura!"

"Jane, please." the blonde said, holding her palms open.

The ME opened her mouth to say something, her face the paramount of outrage, but the Detective cut her short.

"Don't."

The brunette looked at her with pure disbelief and, what Maura hated herself for, hurt in her eyes.

"I'm out of here," Jane said as she got up from the couch and stormed out of the room. "Have fun with your dad," she said before slamming the door behind her.

Her sudden absence created a heavy silence despite the sound of the TV.

"Shit." Maura muttered.

She pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and index. She felt and headache coming but she probably deserved it.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks again for the follows, favorites and reviews. They warm my heart and make me happy!**  
**Someone asked me about Jane's scars. I'll explain how she got them a little later.** **Someone also told me (in Portuguese) that it would be great if Jane and Maura got together soon. I mentioned it's a slow burn, but there will be Rizzles (and hopefully nothing will hurt too much).**  
**This chapter is shorter, but I'll update again during the week-end so it should be okay. Happy reading!**

_"I'm out of here," Jane said as she got up from the couch and stormed out of the room. "Have fun with your dad," she said before slamming the door behind her._

_Her sudden absence created a heavy silence despite the sound of the TV._

_"Shit." Maura muttered._

_She pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and index. She felt and headache coming but she probably deserved it._

Jane refrained herself form breaking her own front door. She was furious but there was no use in taking her anger out on the wood work that closed her small apartment.

She somehow stabilized her trembling hands and unlocked the door using her key. When she got in she threw her bag in the general direction of her couch and went directly into her bedroom, where she took a pillow that she held close against her mouth. She then proceeded to yell until her lungs were empty and her energy was drained out.

Letting herself fall head first on her bed, Jane replayed the night's events in her mind. She did not believe Maura. She knew well enough how toxic Doyle was for her. And she had never played the "he's my father" card before. That was strange, actually

The brunette stood up to sit at the edge of the bed. There was something off. She could feel it. Maura was not the kind of person to let her feelings get in the way of her job. She was a rational, clever woman. Doyle was her father only by biological fate. He was everything Maura was not: intrusive, a mobster, unlawful. A criminal.

Unable to sleep, she took the hover out of the closet and decided to clean her living room. Maybe it could also clean her ideas.

Maura parked the car in a dark alley where she knew it would not be seen. She looked at the building with an exasperated look. Of course her father would choose some old crumbling apartment in a deserted neighborhood. The opposite would have been surprising.

The Detective took her badge off her belt and put it in the glove compartment. She exited the car and locked it from over her shoulder, her eyes fixed on the door in front of her. She resisted the urge to take her gun. Maura did not have a habit of listening to her guts, but her detective skills and experience turned all of the danger alarms on inside her.

She entered the empty apartment and went to the third floor. As he had promised, Doyle appeared to be alone, standing by a window where he could see the street in front of the building. He continued to stare a few moments at the empty road after he heard the familiar footsteps of his daughter. When he turned around, Maura saw that he looked a little older than the last time she had seen him.

About a year ago, a complicated case of drugs, prostitution and organized crime had come into the hands of the BPD Homicide Department. A series of apparently unlinked events led Maura to come across Patrick Doyle's path. Doyle's empire was a vast and invincible one. Not to make things easier, Doyle was her biological father, a fact that she had learnt two years before that and that very few people knew.

Jane was the one who had discovered it after processing elements from a crime scene. She had told her right away and they had decided together of how to proceed and who to tell. Korsak, Maura's partner at the time, was working on the case with her so he was told about it soon after. Lt. Cananaugh, their boss, also knew, along with a few selected members of the FBI and the CIA.

After that particularly intense case including Doyle a little less than a year ago, they had managed to keep things secret and had sent Doyle to an early retirement in Mexico, banning him from the US territory. They had not had any news from him ever since.

That is, before that very morning.

Maura looked into her father's eyes without a smile or a greeting. Every time she met him, she had to face a part of her she could not come in terms with. She was a cop, the symbol of Justice and Protection, and she had mob blood – the worst kind, with that. This was about as bad as it could get.

Trying to ignore the pit in her stomach, she managed to keep her voice steady and firm.

"You said this was about Jane."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I am sorry (not sorry) about the cliffhanger. Luckily for you chapter 4 follows right now.  
Once again, I am humbled by your reviews and people liking the story so far. Hopefully you'll also like the rest =)**  
**As promised, another chapter to complete the last one. Some tried to guess what the news was, you'll find out without any further due ;)**  
**You are all awesome by the way.**

_"You said this was about Jane."_

Doyle observed the blonde, noticing the wrinkles on her forehead and the way she clenched her mouth because of anger. This was not going to be easy.

"That friend of yours is very nosy," the man said, his voice even.

Maura nearly scoffed . This was nothing new, really.

"You can consider yourself lucky she's not a Detective because she would turn around all of Boston to find you and put you behind bars, if not worse."

"Yes, instead of that my own daughter is a cop."

"Just tell me what you have to tell me, Paddy."

The blonde was not in the mood to listen to her father sermon her. He had no right to anyway.

"As I said, Rizzoli is a curious person, way too curious for her own good. I…"

He got cut off by Maura holding out her left palm towards him. She checked her phone that was currently buzzing.

"Talk about the devil," she muttered under her breath.

She declined Jane's call and reported her attention to her father. Doyle raised his eyebrows in silence.

"You were saying."

"I was saying that Jane is too curious. She found things she was not supposed to. She…"

Once again, they heard the buzzing noise of Maura's phone. She saw that is was Jane again and muted it without answering.

"Just ignore it. Go on, please," the Detective said.

"As I said, Jane is…"

"Yes, Jane is nosy, I understood that. Now, please, can we get to the point?"

"Jane…"

The vibration of the phone cut him yet once again.

"And she's a stubborn one, on top of that," Maura mumbled with irritation.

She pressed the 'Accept' button and managed to not bark at Jane.

"What?"

"Hello to you too, Maura," Jane answered with a blank tone.

"Sorry, Jane, it's not a very good time."

"Where are you?"

"Near the precinct."

This was not completely wrong if one considered that whatever area closer to the BPD headquarters than New York was near.

"Good. I found something on the victim. He had traces of dirt and skin under his nails. I ran DNA tests and I got a match."

"Who is it?"

"One of Paddy's dogs. Not that it surprises me. Nothing about Paddy surprises me anymore."

Maura shot a glance at Doyle who was looking at her with a calm expression.

"Did you find anything else?"

"Not yet, but I'm working on it."

"Okay, great. I'll be here in about half an hour."

"Ok. See you then."

The ME hang up and Maura gave herself a few more seconds to listen to the flat tone of the phone.

She looked right at her father.

"What is going on? Why is there a man savagely killed by one of your men in our morgue?"

"This has nothing to do with Jane. This is business related."

Maura scoffed this time.

"Doyle, I am a Homicide Detective. You cannot rightfully tell me that killing is a business. I could put you in jail for this."

"You and I both know that if you had wanted me to go to jail, I would have been there for a few years now. I would have probably escaped but you would have arrested me first, that's a sure thing."

The Detective couldn't reply to this, because it was indeed true and because she didn't understand why it was.

"A friend of mine asked me to have Jane killed, by the end of the week if possible. She put her nose in businesses that are highly dangerous. She also has a lot of information that we wouldn't want revealed to anyone, especially not the Police. I'm telling you this because she's your friend."

Maura was dumbfounded.

"Are you going to do it? Kill her?"

"I will try. Not too hard. And I will try to fail, but I'm good at what I do."

"What is that even supposed to mean?" Maura asked, shaking her head in exasperation.

"It means that you have three days to find a way to retrieve whatever information Jane has on our... private affairs, or Karl Branco will be angry and I will have to kill her."

The Detective widened her eyes at the mention of the name. Karl Branco was a famous mafia boss, a pretty aggressive one with that. This was not good. This was not good at all.

"You can't do this!" The Detective had a hard time processing what Doyle had just told her. This was not happening. Not to Jane. And certainly not from the man who claimed to be her loving father. "You pretend that you care about me but you're about to kill my _best friend_. Does this not even slightly bother the minuscule part of consience you have left?"

Maura's emotions were quickly evolving from utter stupefaction to serious rage.

"This is why I'm warning you and leaving you time. I wouldn't kill you, you're family. Jane is another story."

"Jane is family. She's my family."

"She's not mine."

"Then you're not my family," Maura said firmly before she stormed out of the room.

The sound of her boots echoed in the room.

"Three days, Maura!" Doyle called after her.

Then he was alone. A minute later, the sound of her car driving off left him thinking about what he had just told his daughter.

If only Jane hadn't been so curious.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: And here comes the new chapter. Again and always, thanks for the follows and favs. You people are my sunshine. There's a little bit more of Maura and Jane together time. There will be more later in other chapters (slow burn Rizzles, remember?). There will also be a new character coming in. You know who.  
Happy reading, may your day be filled with rainbows and chocolate.**

Jane was comparing two DNA sequences when she heard someone clear out their throat to announce their presence. She put her glasses away and looked to see Maura shyly standing in the entrance.

"Hey," the blonde said.

"Hey," Jane answered, then stayed silent for a few seconds. "You okay?"

"Tired but fine otherwise. You?"

"I'm pissed at you but otherwise, yeah."

Maura looked at her feet.

"Come on," Jane said "We have a homicide to solve. Work first."

"I'm sorry."

"Work first," Jane repeated "We'll talk about this later."

Maura listened to Jane explain whatever small evidence or possibly interesting detail she found on the victim from the morning. The ME was rigorous and dedicated, scanning with patience each centimeter of the dead man's body and filing everything on her notebook. She had wild hunches but she did her job better than anybody else in Boston.

The Detective looked at Jane's hand doing their magic, peeling away the thinnest hair caught in the fibers of the victim's shirt. She could not help but glimpse at the twin scars on her hands.

Hoyt. The name only still made Maura shiver.

Charles Hoyt was a scientist, crazy by all definitions, and unfortunately extremely bright and talented in his own form of art. He liked to kill his victims – couples preferably – after torturing them. His pleasure was to inflict pain in the most twisted way possible.

Hoyt had managed to stay quiet for some time when he had first killed couples in Boston, but after a dozen of murders without being caught he had become vain and had decided to challenge the Police. This was how Maura had found herself in charge of a case in which Hoyt was the master commander. She ended up catching him and he seemed pleased to meet her. Although he was even more pleased to meet Jane.

Even since he the moment met the tall brunette, Hoyt had developed a disturbing obsession for her, impressed by her beauty as well as her intelligence.

He was put in jail – by Maura – but of course escaped, somehow helped by an apprentice of his still out there.

That was when the chase for Jane had begun. He had started easy killings, leaving messages for the ME on his crime scenes. He had wanted her to find him, and she had.

One night, she had relied on her instincts to find a missing piece of evidence and had found the murderer instead, more than happy to have brought the subject of his obsession in his net.

Hoyt was luckily arrested – almost too late – and Jane had survived, but only barely. When Korsak had found her, she was lying on the ground surrounded by blood, two scalpels pinning her down, planted through each of her hands. Maura hadn't actually seen the scene but she couldn't erase the pictures she had created in her mind. And she could never forgive herself for letting that happen.

Jane's recovery had not been an easy period, but it was one of the rough patches that made her and Maura's friendship stronger.

Jane saw the look of the blonde slide from her task in hands to her scars. She was not as self-conscious as she used to be about them. She thought about Maura and how her own scars were hidden.

"Why were you working in the middle of the night?" the voice of her blonde friend woke her up from her thoughts.

"I couldn't sleep so I figured I might as well work on the case," Jane confessed with an even voice.

Maura was not oblivious as to why Jane had not slept. She knew well enough how bad she felt herself when the ME and she were in bad terms.

"You know I didn't mean to put you aside," Maura assured her.

"But you did."

"Yes," the Detective confirmed "It's… complicated."

"I can handle complicated."

"I know you can."

"Then why are you pushing me away?" Jane asked as she placed the only hair on a microscope slice.

"It's complicated," the blonde repeated.

"I know you are a complex individual, Maura, but one cannot hold that much complexity," Jane declared, casting the Detective a glance over her glasses.

She sighed when she saw the blonde would not answer.

"Maur, you have to tell me what's going on. For one, I don't like seeing you like this, and I can feel you're hiding something away from me."

"Is this your intestines talking?" the Detective half-heartily joked.

"Sometimes it works on living people too, especially when it happens to be my best friend."

The Detective remained silent still.

"I still have about a thousand tests to run, which is probably going to take me the rest of the night. You'll get bored before I do."

"I could help you."

"Do you know what a nucleic base is?"

"Vaguely."

"Do you know what _streptococcus mitis_ refers to?"

"Absolutely not."

The ME shot a knowing look at her friend. Maura chuckled. Being familiar with Jane's temperament, she was thankful for the effort she was making to put her at ease.

"Have you met with Doyle yet?"

The blonde didn't see a reason to lie anymore. It _was_ about the brunette after all.

"Yes."

Jane didn't comment but Maura knew oh too well that she was not happy about it. The way her nostrils flared was a good indicator.

"He had some important information about you."

"What kind of information?" the ME asked with a frown.

"Someone ordered him to kill you."

Jane instantly left what she was doing and put her glasses down.

"He said you were being too nosy and it disturbed some people's businesses. It seems you own information that some would prefer not to be revealed. Doyle said we could reach an agreement if you handed those information to him."

"How generous of him. Shall I bake him a cake while I'm at it?"

"Is this sarcasm?" the blonde asked with half disbelief and half disapproval.

"Of course this is sarcasm, Maura! How can you even bargain with him? He's a criminal! You're a cop, in case you have forgotten!"

Both of their tones were getting louder.

"I am very well aware of my professional activity, but this is you we're talking about. I can't risk you!"

"Maura…"

"No!" the blonde cried. "I can't…" She was starting to shake. "I can't risk you. I don't want something to happen to you. Not again."

Jane slowly made her way towards her and kneeled at her friend's feet. She took one of Maura's hands between hers.

"This is Doyle, not Hoyt. We can find something." She paused. "I'm not going to die."

"He is going to kill you. He told me he would if you didn't hand him the information within three days."

"Three days? Shit, that's really short."

"Can you please give me what you have on Karl Branco?"

"What does Karl… wait, Karl Branco wants me dead?" Jane asked with utter surprise. She huffed. "I did _not_ see that coming."

The ME seemed thoughtful for a minute, as if she was processing the news. Maura did not see concern on her face, which made her even more worried.

"I'm not giving him anything, Maura."

The blonde had expected a similar reaction but she had secretly hoped for her friend to listen to her for once.

"I have enough proves to stop half of Doyle's mob network. I need a few more elements to link the pieces of evidences together and then I'm handing the file to Cavanaugh. I'm not giving up on that for Paddy, however strongly related to you he is."

"He is going to kill you, Jane. Have you not heard me?"

"Why are you going along with him instead of trying to fight for me? Am I not your friend?"

"Of course you are!" Maura couldn't believe Jane could even think she would not fight for her. "I _am_ fighting for you. I am trying to fix this."

"No, you're letting yourself being dictated by your abusive 'father'," Jane made a show of air quoting that last word, "who, do I need to remind you, is here _illegally_, engaging in his _criminal_ occupation. Why aren't you doing anything about it? Doyle should be in jail."

"It's not easy for me. I can't put him in jail."

"Why?" Jane asked with exasperation.

"I… I don't know."

The brunette loudly exhaled.

"I understand that it's not easy for you, Maur, but I am going to need some help here. Apparently Doyle doesn't have a problem killing his daughter's best friend and I only have so much power on the matter. Can I go talk to him?"

"Absolutely not."

"What if you come with me?"

"Jane, you are not approaching Doyle from more than a mile whether it's with me or not, or I swear I will lock you up in a cell for your own good."

"Now that's more like you," Jane said with a smirk.

"I'm not caving in," the Detective assured. "I'm just trying to find the best solution for everyone."

"I know. Don't let Doyle dictate your behavior though."

Maura looked at her best friend.

"Do you hate me because I can't do anything about him?" she asked with a faint voice.

"Nah. I can't hate you. Plus, there's a game tonight and I need your gigantic TV. Now would not be a good time to hate you."

The blonde laughed this time, a sound that made the brunette smile widely.

"It's going to be okay," she assured the Detective with a reassuring smile.

None of them were certain of that, of course, but saying it out loud would have been making things way too real, way too scary. For now they still had time and hope.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I am forever grateful, and somehow surprised, to see people liking this story. Again, thanks for following, favoriting and reviewing, the feedback does wonder to my mood and my motivation to continue.**  
**There isn't much action in here (sorry), things go at their pace (Rizzles included; fear not, I am all about rainbow, glitters and Rizzles). You will learn things on Det. Maura though.**  
**Happy reading, and have a good week-end!**

Maura left Jane around 2am to get a few hours of sleep. The ME had told her she would do the same but after the blonde had left it appeared clear that her mind was in a too messy turmoil to be able to stop. So instead of going back to her small apartment, Jane stayed in the morgue thinking over, over and over again.

A buzz from the metal table next to her informed her that she had received a message. Maura was safe back home. Jane quickly typed an answer and thought about what her best friend had told her earlier. Karl Branco was not to be taken lightly. Even if Doyle, by some self-conscious miracle, decided not to kill Jane, Branco would make sure the job was eventually done. And then the problem would probably be moved onto another member of the great mob network of Boston of which Jane Rizzoli knew too much about.

Biting her thumb, the ME tried to think of a way to not be dead by next week. It was Friday already and they had until Monday.

The ideal solution, of course, would be to put behind bars all of the mobster criminals Jane had gathered information on, but that would be an unbelievable amount of work that was way too close to being impossible to achieve.

They were not sure anyone other than Branco and Doyle knew that Jane had been systematically keeping interesting data on Boston's mob. For all they knew, and that was to pray for, Karl and Paddy were the only one. Maybe neutralizing only the two mobsters would be sufficient.

Jane pondered the idea, wondering if it would be good enough. They would have to act quickly anyway. She would have to talk to Maura about it.

Maura.

Jane knew The Detective couldn't put Doyle in jail. She had tried to, but something about arresting her own father – very absent, but father still – prevented the blonde from doing it eventually.

Maura had always been a weird person, ever since she was a child. Life had not always been easy for her because of that, despite her wealthy family of adoption and the nice environment she had lived in while growing up.  
Complicated life or not, she had worked hard to get where she was. Making her way up through the grades of the Police Force, she had ignored the snarky remarks about her being a woman and brushed off people criticizing her over-rigorous methods. The Detective was where she was because she had deserved it, there was no way to deny this. Her career had been, until now, a success.

Other aspects of her life, however, were not as bright. Maura Isles' parents, two fine human beings, were busy people who barely found time to take care of their daughter. They loved her dearly but they were strong believers in hard work and independency, two concepts they based the education of their adoptive child on. They gave her the best presents when she proved to be the best in a given discipline, put her in the best shools, offered her the nicest house in Beacon Hill when she became BPD's youngest Detective. But those were all material things  
What Maura had always lacked of was love and small things that come with it. An attentive family, friends to vouch for her and listen to her, loud cousins and crazy aunts. For the longest time she had convinced herself that finding her true family, the one she shared blood with, would have been the only way to finally feel like belonging. Eventually she had to give up this idea. Another reason why she had driven herself so hard to succeed in her job.

So when Doyle, her lost father, rushed into her life without warning, her well-ordered universe instantly crumbled. All she had ever wanted and had then to give up on after years of yearning suddenly threw itself at her face. Suddenly she had the father she had always longed for, and he was all she had never wanted him to be.

Jane was there when Maura had learnt the news, she was even the one to tell her. She had hesitated a while before announcing it to her friend but had rapidly decided that Maura deserved to know. And she made sure she was there with her to help her cope with the whole situation, tough case and unwanted father combined.

Maura had managed to compartmentalize her mind to deal with everything, but she was never completely serene when it concerned her biological father, even now. Jane understood her uneasiness.

The brunette looked in the direction of her office, thinking.

With a swift movement of the arm, she grabbed her mobile phone on the table and went in her office. Shuffling through her papers more or less organized, she found a USB key. The small item read '32 Gb'. With a little help, it would be good enough.

Maura stared at her cellphone as if it held all of the answers. She wished it did, but she could only see the reflection of the ceiling on the black screen.

She had gone home more than three hours ago and hadn't had a minute of sleep. Her mind was constantly racing, thinking of a way to both save Jane and calm down Branco. Of course there was no obvious solution yet and Maura knew it was going to be impossible to satisfy everyone. She could retrieve whatever information Jane had but it would mean lie to the ME – because there was no way in hell she would willingly give the information to Maura, stubborn as she was – as well as break a few federal laws. Or she could keep the information and risk her best friend's life.

Of course she didn't want to handle what they had on Boston's mob, but she couldn't bring herself to gamble Jane in this dangerous game of cards either – a fact that was immensely more important. The ME was right anyway. Maura was a Homicide Detective. She had values that represented not only her work but also her own personality, and giving in to Paddy's blackmail would be against everything she believed in.

Maura didn't want to lose Jane's data but couldn't keep it. She had reached a dead end.

They could deceive Doyle and give him an incomplete or a wrong file, but neither Paddy nor Karl were stupid. They would know. Doyle especially would expect Jane's research to be thorough and explicit. He knew the Doctor.

There was another possibility. The idea had emerged in Maura's head a little bit earlier in the morning. Jane wouldn't like it but she would probably prefer it to giving away all of several years of silent and hard work.

She would have to talk about it with her.

Looking at the clock in her kitchen, the Detective saw that it was well past 6am. She decided there was no use in staying home anymore so she took a shower, grabbed her car keys and drove to the precinct in the cool morning air.

**A/N: In next chapter Frost comes in! Of course he does.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Welcome again to this AU story! So, I received mixed feelings about last chapter that apparently people didn't like as much as the rest. Sorry for those of you who read the first version that was completely bold (I don't know how it happened, thanks to the person who pointed it out to me). I feel like some of you are disappointed that there is an actual plot and not too much Rizzles (for now). I did say it was a slow burn and I can't just throw random situations without a little bit of a story. You may not like the story so far, or at all (never pretended I was a good writer), if it's the case I'm sorry. Maybe it's a little long, but Rizzles will be coming.**  
**Thanks always for people who continue to follow and favorite, for the reviews (bad or not, feedback is a good thing!). And thanks to the silent readers too =)**  
**This is a longer chapter, with actual dialogue. Hope you like it, things are moving foward, slowly then not so slowly ;)  
**

* * *

Jane heard someone knock at the door of her office and raised her head to see who it was. A familiar face smiled at her.

"Hey, Jane."

"Hey, Frost," she answered with a croaky voice because of her lack of sleep. She casted a look at her watch. "You're here early."

The young man was usually at work before everyone else – sometimes even before Jane – but never this early. After all, it was only six o'clock and official working hours started at 8am.

"Yeah, I have a few things that need to get done before things get crazy in here and Maura busts my ass about processing what we have on yesterday's victim."

Barold "Barry" Frost was the IT guy of the lab. More like a computer genius actually. There were only few things he couldn't do and having him in the team was a rare chance for the BPD.

He was serious about his job, smart, and he gave a hundred percent if not more, partly to be recognized legitimately and to shut up people nagging him about his uneasiness around corpses. Yes, it was an uncommon thing for someone working in a morgue to be sick around the Dead, but his main expertise fields were actually IT science and chemistry, so he was more than qualified for the job. His primary task was not to cut people, and he was not anywhere near changing that. He gathered and analyzed data, searched the database to compare substances, recognized molecules, tested crime elements… Sometimes he even did extra work for the people upstairs. Maura, among others, often came to see him to speed up the processing of evidences or ask for specific information. The Detective knew that if she needed something done well and quickly, she just had to ring at his door – he even had access to the Detective's database, something Maura and Susie had arranged – which was exactly what she had done the day before.

Jane chuckled. "She's bossy."

"I agree. She's polite about it, but she's bossy alright. You been here all night?"

"Yeah," the ME rasped. "Couldn't sleep."

"Come on," Frost gestured her. "Let's go get some fresh air and a large coffee. I think you need it."

"Don't you have stuff to do?"

"Nah, it can wait," he said with a shrug.

"Okay, but I do have a favor to ask you."

"At least buy me coffee first," her friend said with a smirk.

"I'll even buy you a cinnamon roll."

* * *

Outside, Frost and Jane sat on a bench in a comfortable silence. Frost was finishing a huge donut with chocolate icing while the ME was slowly sipping her hot coffee. The air was crisp but the temperature had been slowly increasing for the past weeks. Spring was to be expected soon, something that was appraised by Boston inhabitants who had had enough of snow storms and slippery sidewalks.

Frost licked his fingers with a happy grunt and sighed.

"Man, you do love donuts," Jane joked. "I thought it was only cops and pregnant women."

"You love donuts too," hit friend pointed out.

"Yes, because I love anything that has fat in it although it's not good for me and although I should eat more green stuff."

"Is it the doctor talking or are you rephrasing one of Maura's many speeches on proper diet."

Jane scoffed.

"You would think being a doctor would have convinced me of having better food habits."

"So Maura _has_ brainwashed you."

"Shut up, Frost, she has not brainwashed me."

The young man didn't try to hide his smirk and Jane playfully smacked his arm.

"How is Detective Isles anyway, she seems stressed out lately."

"She has a lot on her mind," the ME answered before falling into a silent pause.

"I'd say she's not the only one. You wanna talk about it?"

"Not yet. I do have a favor to ask you, though."

"You mentioned that."

"Could you make, say, a hundred gigabytes of data fit into a 32 gigabytes USB key?"

"Hum... I guess I could. Geez, Jane, how much porn do you watch?"

The brunette hit him in the arm a little harder than before.

"OW. You are stronger than your skinny white ass makes it look."

"Come on, I know you're hiding some muscles in there. We've worked out together, I know you like to build up a little to please the ladies, be the geek with a hot body."

Frost laughed.

"So, why do you need to transfer a hundred gigabytes of data?"

"I want to keep it somewhere safe. Could you crypt the key too?"

"Shit just got serious. You in trouble or something? Should I make you a new passport to flee the country? Juanita Con El Asso Skinnito would be a great name for you."

"I'm not fleeing the country yet, and if I am you are not in charge of my passport."

"Fine," Frost said, holding his hands up. "But really, what's going on?"

"I can't tell you yet. I'm trying to fix it before it gets bad."

"Something tells me it has already gotten bad."

"It's not critic yet."

"My spider man sixth sense is screaming otherwise but I trust you," the young man marked a pause. "You know I'm here if you need me for things other than transferring data."

"I know, thanks man."

"Your ass may be skinny but I would miss the tiny volume it takes up."

"Jesus Christ, Frost, stop it already with my ass! Get laid and forget about my butt."

"It's not my fault it's skinny."

"My ass is _not_ skinny."

Frost raised his eyebrow with a look that clearly indicated the opposite.

"Shut up."

_Thank God I have friends like Frost_, Jane thought. He was one of the few who could make her laugh in spite of any bad situation. And boy did she need it.

* * *

When Susie heard the familiar stomp of Maura's fancy boots, she immediately knew something was wrong. Her worries were confirmed when she looked up from her screen to see the blonde walking with a determined expression towards her desk. She threw a quick "hi" around, hang her coat on the back of her chair, and started typing on her keyboard the moment she sat.

Her partner poked her head from behind her computer and silently slid a cup of coffee towards the Detective. Maura's attention was startled by the scratching sound of the goblet against the wood of the desk. She smiled when she saw Susie, partly hidden by the screen that was probably half her size, her arm fully extended in front of her, pushing the cup with the tip of her figner so that it was almost touching the blonde's right hand.

"It's still hot," Susie said, returning to a more comfortable position.

"Thanks."

Maura eyed the fuming cup.

"Latte. Soy milk. No sugar."

The blonde chuckle at her partner who probably knew what she had been thinking.

"Thank you, Susie, I really needed that coffee."

"You're welcome. This is a tough case. I heard Jane made a break through last night."

"She did."

Maura kept for herself that Jane had found the case invovled Doyle. Susie probably didn't know it yet, and it was better this way. Paddy had chosen a really bad timing to show up again. Why was he back anyway?

Her thoughts quickly went to Jane. The brunette was likely already here. It was even possible that she hadn't left.

"Susie," Maura called to her colleague. "Could you help me with something?"

"Sure. Is it related to the case?"

"Indirectly, yes."

This was not a lie. Far from it actually.

"I just sent you an email," the Detective informed her.

Susie nodded and clicked on the new line that had appeared in her mailbox. She frowned when she read the content. A glance at Maura told her that it was an information to keep for herself.

"I'll explain later," the blonde said in a low voice.

The friend in her partner acquiesced but her detective instincts told her something was wrong, or at least something was purposely left out. She bent towards Maura and whispered.

"I'm not going to get into trouble, am I?"

"No."

"Great. Then my conscience is not going to bother me at night. I'll look into it."

"Thanks. I'm going to see Jane," she announced, raising from her chair. "We're interviewing the suspect in two hours."

"Yeah, Korsak said they found him. They're on their way to the precinct."

"Good. I'm not in a mood for a perp chase."

She waved at Susie and went to the elevator where she pressed the down button and waited to be taken to the morgue.

"Damn, Jane, you have like a million files on this!"

"Yeah, yeah. I work, you know. The data tends to accumulate after the years."

"Man, you could open an online library with all of this. Wait… this is actually a good idea."

"Frost."

"Yeah, sorry," the IT maestro apologized with a vague gesture of his hand. "Okay, so I'm going to compress all of those files so that they are less heavy. Then I'm going to divide them into packs and I'm going to convert every pack into a unique file. Then I'll crypt each pack and finally put all of the packs together and crypt them again."

"Is it going to make of all this fit in a 32Gb USB key?"

"Yes."

"Then it's all I need to know."

"And you want me to erase all of it when it's transferred on the key?"

"Yes."

Frost looked at her for a few seconds then shook his head and cracked his knuckles.

"Okay, let's do this. You'll owe me a round of beer."

"I already bought you a donut."

"A donut is not enough, Juanita."

The ME was going to answer something when they heard the door of the lab open. They both fell silent.

"Am I interrupting?" Maura asked with a frown.

"Not at all," Frost told her. "Jane was telling me she was going to pay the first round at the Robber tonight."

Jane looked at his smug face between narrowed eyes.

"I guess it's fair enough. Wanna join us?" she asked, turning to the blonde.

"I don't know."

Maura was not really in the mood to celebrate. She had a lot of things on her mind and doubted she could easily unwind. But they were all tired and they really needed a moment to relax and forget about the case and everything else that was keeping them up at night. Judging by the circles under her eyes, Jane hadn't slept at all, and she was wearing the same clothes so she must have spent the night here, as Maura had thought. Maybe a drink or two was actually a good idea. The Detective had to admit it actually appealed to her.

"Sure," she finally said.

Jane's face lit up with a genuine smile that made the blonde's heart skip a beat. Ever since Doyle had told her about her best friend's life being threatened, everything the brunette said and did reminded Maura of how she cared about her.

"Great. Are you free for lunch? I'd like to talk to you about something."

The Detective was surprised at those words. Did Jane knew something new?

"With pleasure. I need to talk to you too."

"I'll come up around 12pm."

Frost eyed the two women, hiding a mocking grin. It was about fucking time they had _the_ talk, if they asked him, but it was apparently too hard for them to put all of the pieces together. A hell of a pair, man.

* * *

**A/N: I am in no way an IT technician, so if some of you were brutally offended by things Frost did, I am truly sorry. Let's pretend it was all legitimate and possible. Thank you.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: This chapter starts yet again with my eternal gratitude for people taking the time to review as well as for those who favorite and follow. Hi to the ones in the back who read silently.  
Here's a new piece, I hope you like it. Hopefully the next one should come up soon, and things continue to move forward (at their pace, still).**  
**More Jane and Maura time in this chapter. Happy reading!**

* * *

The morning went by quickly. Jane continued to write the report for the autopsy of the day before and the different elements they had gotten from analyzing pieces of evidence from the crime scene. Maura did chase a suspect in the end - running unexpectedly fast despite her designer boots - and tackled him to the ground. She muttered about wrinkles on her – also designer – suit and ignored Susie's I-told-you-so look aimed at negatively commenting her choice of outfit. The Detective argued that at least she was not wearing heels, something that was in fact difficult for her since she loved shoes and fashion in general.

By the time the Detectives were back at the precinct, it was already noon. Maura just had time to write a few comments on the suspect's interview before Jane showed up at the bullpen, her working scrubs traded for a pair of suit pants and a button up shirt.

"Well look who honors us, living people from upstairs, with her presence," Korsak said with humor. "We haven't seen you in ages, Jane."

"Because you guys turn the heat to maximum power in here although it's fucking winter outside."

Maura smiled, briefly taking her eyes off of her report to acknowledge her friend's presence.

"Better than it being 40°F," Korsak retorted.

"My hot Italian blood needs some constant cooling."

"I am not arguing with that," the older man laughed. He paused before shifting to his professional mode. "I heard the case is related to Doyle."

Jane shot a glance at Maura who was still carefully working on her report.

"Yeah. Apparently he's back for something. Maybe unfinished business, we're not sure what it is. Have you finished yet, Maura?"

"Almost."

"Doctor Rizzoli, did you get a chance to process the blood from the jacket we found in the suspect's house?" Susie took the opportunity to inquire.

"It was a reddish brown stain until Doctor Rizzoli has proof it was more," Maura said, her eyes still on her work

"Come on, Maura, you have seen enough reddish brown stains to know it was blood."

"I have also seen reddish brown stains that turned out to not be blood."

"Well," the brunette dramatically said, turning towards Susie "As the official ME of the morgue, I confirm you it was indeed blood we found on the jacket. The DNA is from the victim, so I guess you also have the right suspect."

"You're not a Detective, Jane, you should let us draw the conclusions," Maura commented.

"Yes," Jane deadpanned "Thank you for constantly reminding me."

"You're an okay doctor though," the blonde added with a smirk.

"Geez, Maura, stop kissing my ass you're going to make me blush."

"I'm done," the Detective said while clicking on the little red arrow on the bottom top of her numerical document.

"Great! I'm starving." The brunette took Maura's coat from the back of her chair and helped the Detective get into it. "Chang, you can ask Frost for the report, he's filling it with a few last things. He should be done soon."

Susie nodded and proceeded to text Frost. Jane and Maura started to exit when the brunette suddenly turned around.

"By the way, we're going to the Robber tonight. Korsak, Chang, wanna come?"

"Definitely," Susie answered.

"I'm coming if you're buying," Korsak said.

"Why is everyone so interested in taking my money today? I ain't your sugar mama!" Jane joked. "Yes, Vince, I'll buy you a beer."

"Ok,I'm in."

"Great. I'll see you guys later."

The ME joined Maura who was patiently waiting for her by the entrance of the bullpen. Jane instinctively opened the door for the blonde and put a hand on the small of her back when she stepped outside. Small gestures that said a lot, really.

* * *

Jane accepted to take a side of salad with her cheeseburger but categorically refused to trade her Angus beef steak against tofu. A woman needed her proteins, dammit. Maura chose a simple Garden Salad – "Rabbit food" as the ME liked to say.

"So, Robber tonight," Maura said as a conversation starter while picking a quarter of tomato with her fork. "Wasn't there a game you wanted to watch?"

"They'll have it at the bar. I can record it anyway."

"Do you want me to record it from my home TV?"

"Um, yeah. That was what I actually meant by recording. I am being intrusive, aren't I?"

"It's fine," Maura assured her with a smile.

And she was not lying, it really was. Sure, the brunette was present in almost every aspect of her life, but that's where she wanted her. She couldn't imagine a life without her best friend's abundant presence.

"Nah, I'll just record it from my place. I still have an apartment after all."

"You know I don't mind you coming over to watch sports."

"Even when I yell at your TV and wake you up from your nap?"

The blonde laughed at the memory.

"You could certainly be less noisy but no, not even then."

"I'll try to watch my temper," Jane offered with a soft voice.

The Detective chuckled at the idea. She would like to see the day when her friend managed to control her "hot Italian blood" as she had mentioned earlier.

"So…" Jane started. "About Doyle."

"What about him?" Maura encouraged her to continue.

"I put all of the data I had on a USB key," the ME announced without further due. "Frost is helping me coding everything. I'm not handing anything to Doyle but it would be foolish to let the files lying around."

"Does Frost know?"

"No. I haven't told him anything. I just needed his help because I didn't know how to make a hundred Gb fit into a USB key."

Maura widened her eyes at that last comment.

"Jane, you have a hundred gigabytes worth of information on Doyle's mob network!? How is that even possible?"

"We see a lot of cases, Maur, and Doyle was pretty active before he left for Mexico, especially in Boston since it's his hometown. And it's not only Doyle. Paddy has associates and colleagues virtually everywhere. I just had to dig in a little to find the interesting stuff."

"Dig in a little? From what I understood you did not just dig a little."

"Okay, so maybe I've been snooping around. But those guys aren't discreet either."

The Detective huffed. No wonder Jane had started attracting attention on herself. Snooping was not something mobsters liked, especially not from people working with cops.

"What are you going to do with the key?" the blonde asked.

"I'm not sure. Seeing as you're a Detective and all I thought you'd have some advice to share."

"We could lock it away somewhere safe. What I'm really worried about isn't so much the key as it is you. Whether they know where the information is or not, what they really need is you to point it at them. They already pinpointed that you were the one they should worry about."

"I suppose we could not ask Doyle to guide them in the wrong direction, like maybe make them think that it was all a lie?"

Maura looked at Jane and sighed.

"Yeah, that was a stupid thing to even consider. What about trying to stop Doyle and Branco? Maybe they are the only one who know about me."

"We can only hope it is the case, but we don't have any certainty."

Jane took a deep respiration. "So. What can we do?"

"I have an idea," the blonde calmly said.

The ME's face instantly lit up.

"Really?"

"You may not like it."

Jane instantly sobered.

"Oh." She paused. "Ok. Shoot."

"Witness protection."

Maura was careful to observe Jane's reaction. She saw her eyes reflect first surprise, then clear disapproval. The brunette frowned.

"This is a little extreme for the situation, I'm not sure witness protection is applicable."

"You are someone who holds information that is useful to the Police Force and whose knowledge causes a situation of danger. for your own person You fill the criteria to enter the program."

"I don't know how I feel about this, Maur," the ME thought out loud. "I'm not the only one who have seen the information we have on the mob network."

"And yet you are obviously the one they are targeting."

"Because you father doesn't like me."

Maura could not deny the fact in itself, although she doubted this was the whole reason. Jane did not have a special place in Paddy's heart. She did however have one on his list of people to take down at some point.

"I'm not asking you to make the decision right away," the blonde explained. "But will you please think about it? I'll try to find another way, but I need you to consider this option if I can't think of any other way. You will have to think quickly however; we only have so much time."

The ME wanted to refuse. Every ounce of her wanted to say no. But she looked at Maura and saw the fear in her eyes. Her friend, one of the most important people in her life – if not the most important – was terrified for her.

"Okay," she said softly. "I'll think about it. But you're right, I don't like it."

"Thank you, Jane."

The Detective was visibly relieved. Although she hated the idea, the Italian understood why Maura liked it. It was the best way to ensure she would be safe. Doyle would take care of the blonde's protection for as long as he lived, so this was not an issue. Jane's safety, on the other hand, was far from being guaranteed.

"So," Jane started after eating a few leaves of salad without her usual overdramatic disgusted expressions. "How do you think Doyle and Branco learnt about me gathering stuff about them?"

"If there aren't more people aware of the situation," Maura reminded her.

"I'm trying to not be pessimistic here."

"We have to consider every possibility."

"Isn't this guessing?"

"No, it's not."

Jane raised an unimpressed eyebrow.

"Based on the hypothesis that only Doyle and Branco know, how do you think they found out?" she rephrased.

"Knowing Doyle's methods, it is more likely that he used his informants. It could even be someone from the inside, although there is a great chance we would had found him or her by now."

"You mean a spy? On our side? Really, you think it's possible?"

"Everything is possible."

"Is it mathematics talking or you?"

"You cannot really dissociate mathematics from me, it is my way of thinking."

"So you _are_ a cyborg." The Detective laughed in spite of herself. Jane stayed silent for moment. "I'm sorry for being an ass earlier."

Maura looked at the brunette, frowning.

"I've been kind of a bitch ever since you told me Doyle had contacted you," the ME continued. "I understand the position you're in, I do. Doyle is your father and it makes everything complicated, especially in your case. It's just that I don't like how he can so easily come into your life and try to change everything. I'm more mad at him than I am at you."

"But you are mad at me," Maura stated.

Jane let out a long sigh.

"No. Not really. I can't. I mean, I'd be the first one to understand that family is complicated. I haven't been putting myself in your shoes. I'm sorry. I care about you. You're my friend and I'm a jackass."

"You're not."

"Hives?"

Maura playfully smacked Jane on the forearm.

"I'm not lying!"

The brunette laughed and grabbed the offending palm.

"I do care about you, and how you feel is important. I want you to know that."

Maura didn't answer but offered Jane her best smile.

"Now come on, we still have some work to do."

The two friends paid for their lunch and came back together to the headquarters where they each took the direction of their respective offices.

* * *

**A/N: Soon Frankie comes in, you'll see where his AU place is.  
Also, I have never pointed it out before but I'm working without a beta so there might be mistakes for which I apologize.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: And a new chapter, a little later than what I had expected. It is a lot longer than usual though, so there's that in my defense :) Things are moving faster, stuff happens... find out everything by reading. I hope you enjoy, happy reading!  
And Happy Easter!**

* * *

By the end of the afternoon, both Jane and Maura were exhausted. Neither of them had slept the previous night and they had had a tough week before that. The Detective almost canceled the night out at the Dirty Robber but forced herself to go.

In all honesty, it was for Jane that she was going. Of course she was happy to be spending time outside of the office with Susie, Frost and Korsak, but she would have preferred another night. Then she had thought about her best friend whom Doyle had threatened to kill and about the conversation the two women had had earlier that day. What if Jane accepted to go to witness protection? Maura would be relieved, yes, but there was also this part of her who strongly resented the sole idea of losing Jane.

Because it was what was going to happen. If Jane entered the witness protection program, she would have to change her identity, go somewhere else, start everything new. Although the brunette would be safe, she would also be far from the people she loved and there was no doubt about how little both Maura and Jane liked the idea. Not to mention the probable reaction of her loved ones here in Boston when they would be told about the devastating news.

That part of Maura, along with the little part of her that was in utter panic and that she somehow managed to keep at bay, gave her the final push to not call the ME and tell her she was not coming. Instead, she put a final touch of make-up, checked her hair and went downstairs to wait for Jane. Only a few minutes later, she heard the sound of a car parking in front of her house and it was only a matter of seconds before Jane was at her doorstep, knocking with her usual impatience.

The Detective opened the door and stepped aside to let Jane come in. She barely needed an invitation at this point in their relationship, not after all the times she had come at Maura's and made herself at home.

"Hi," the brunette greeted. "How are you?"

"Exhausted," Maura answered truthfully while closing the door. "You don't look so fresh either."

"I'm not." She shook her hands in order to warm them up. "So, I came to record the hockey game."

"I already did. You know that I am fully capable of recording a game, on my own TV moreover?"

"Of course you are, you're a genius. I just wanted to make sure you didn't record the wrong one."

"I would be a terrible friend if I mistook your favorite team for another one."

"Yeah, well, maybe I also wanted to be sure you wouldn't bail," Jane confessed, her voice a little lower.

Maura almost laughed, out of tiredness and irony. Jane did know her well.

"I thought about it," she confirmed. "But I really want to spend a moment with you. With all of you, " she corrected.

"I'm scared to leave you alone because, every time, I think Branco or another scum of the mob is going to send someone to get you. I know it's me they want but I can't help worrying. You're my best friend and you're a cop. That's twice a reason for you to be in danger. Sometimes I'm almost grateful that Doyle is your father because I know he can keep you safe in ways I can't."

Maura stayed silent at the admission that, in all honesty, she had not expected. Her friend had kept her eyes glued to her feet, probably embarrassed to say all of this. Jane Rizzoli did not have a habit of talking about her feelings, and certainly not about her fears. She was the Queen of the Dead, after all, a reputation she was mostly proud of and tried to maintain as much as possible.

The Detective took the brunette's hand in hers, making the Italian stop fidgeting with her fingers. A gentle squeeze convinced the ME to look up.

"This is how I feel about you too, you know," Maura said with a gentle voice. "Except that _you_ are their direct target and that makes me immensely more worried."

"I'm sorry."

Jane was sincere and it did something to Maura's heart the blonde didn't fully comprehend.

"Don't be sorry for being who you are. You made your job the only way you knew how to: with a commitment of 200%. I'm the one who should be sorry. I should have made you my priority instead of Doyle's maneuvers."

"Wow, wait. Maura, I'm not asking you to choose between Paddy and me. This was never my intention. I mean, it probably sounded like it, but this is not what I wanted."

"And yet this is exactly what I have to do. He threatened to kill you and showed no intention of backing out, I have no doubt he will kill you at some point if he can. I have to pick a side."

"Maur-"

"You know I'm right," she cut the brunette.

"I'm sorry," Jane repeated.

"Don't be. I will choose you. A hundred times if I have to, I will choose you."

Jane searched for Maura's eyes, afraid to believe her but in desperate need for it to mean what she thought it meant. If Maura could only tell the truth, there wasn't anything more real than this and she hoped the ME could see it. Jane's eyes, in the meantime, were unsure, almost dubious.

"But, he's your family," she said simply.

This echoed in Maura's mind and she remembered when Doyle had used this exact word. He didn't have the same concept of a family that Maura had learnt to know. Love, tolerance, comprehension, loyalty. Doyle didn't have any of this.

She looked into Jane's eyes and saw exactly that. That and more.

God, so much more.

"_You_'re my family, Jane."

She heard the brunette have a shaky breathe and her chocolate eyes became watery.

"Shit, you're gonna make me cry," she said, trying to laugh.

Maura smiled, trying herself not to cry. Tired as they both were it was not an easy task.

"Come here," she commanded the ME.

"You don't like hugs," Jane pointed out.

"I like your hugs. Come here."

The Italian had no intention of denying her friend this. She enveloped her in her long arms, locking her best friend, part of her family, in a tight embrace. Maura was a few inches shorter than Jane without her boots. She used the height difference to rest her head under the taller woman's chin. She felt Jane take a subtle sniff of her hair, something she did when she thought the Detective was not attentive. Maura herself was quietly breathing the ME's distinct scent, feeling nothing but Jane around her. Frankly, there wasn't any place she'd rather be.

Jane finally untightened her arms around Maura.

"We should probably get going. Come on, I'll drive you."

"Okay," Maura accepted, feeling the loss of her friend but secretly happy that they would be together for the short time of the ride.

* * *

When Jane and Maura passed the door of The Dirty Robber, they were welcomed with the familiar sight and noises of their favorite bar. It didn't take them long for them to spot the booth were Frost, Korsak and Susie were chatting.

Jane motioned at her best friend to go sit and came out of the bar, composing a number on speed dial. She waited a few rings before a voice answered with a tired tone.

"Hey, Janie, what's up?"

"Hey, Frankie! How are you?"

"I'm fine. To what do I owe the pleasure of you calling me?"

"We're meeting at the Robber tonight with a few colleagues, I was wondering if you wanted to come. Frost is here, I know you two like to talk about geek stuff."

"Thanks, sis', but I have a night shift. Another time for sure."

"I'll just keep calling you until you can actually make it."

Frankie laughed.

"Please do. I gotta go. You take care."

"I'll see you on Sunday at Ma's?"

"Sure. See ya, Janie. Say hello to everyone for me."

"Sure thing. See you, Frankie."

She hang up the phone. Too bad Frankie had to work tonight, she really wanted to see him.

Her younger brother, second child in the family, had also successfully become a doctor, to their mother's most intense joy. He was a trauma and orthopedic surgeon at Mass General Hospital in Boston. He had followed his sister's footstep for the first year but had later decided that he preferred working on living people rather than on dead ones.

Frankie worked a lot and Jane rarely got to see him because their agenda were busy, hers and his both. They usually saw each other at the usual family dinner at their mother's house on Sundays. Angela Rizzoli tried to gather her overworked family every week but it proved to be a difficult task sometimes.

Jane made her way back into the Robber and went to sit at the table with her friends.

"Hi, everyone, and thank you, Maura," she greeted everyone while raising the pint of beer her friend surely had ordered for her.

"Actually, thank _you_, Jane," Frost said. "You paid all of our drinks."

The brunette gave him a startled look. The young man waved the ME's wallet that he was currently holding in his hand.

"Maura took it out from your car because she knew you were going to forget it," Frost explained.

"When did we become so domesticated?" Jane asked, retrieving her wallet.

"When you started being so absent-minded," Maura answered.

"Right. Frankie says hi, by the way."

"Why isn't he here? Are we gonna have to drag his ass all the way from the hospital to here to get a chance to see him?" Frost said in a high pitch tone.

"Please stop being obsessed with the Rizzoli's asses, Frost. Wait, that came out wrong. Anyway," she dismissed everyone's laughter with her hand and raised her glass. "To a Friday night largely deserved."

Everyone exclaimed "cheers!" and clinked their glasses.

* * *

Jane and Maura only had two drinks each. Considering their level of exhaustion it would have been a mistake to have any more alcohol. They drank a little, laughed a lot, talked even more and in general appreciated a night out with their friends and colleagues. It was a small tradition they all tried to follow, unwinding with a drink at their usual bar during a tough case. Jane only took a vague interest in the live broadcast of the hockey game, too busy chatting and making jokes.

A little after midnight, Jane offered Maura to take her home. She was starting to be really tired herself and dreamt of her bed. The blonde acquiesced and they made their goodbyes before exiting the bar.

The ME drove them to her friend's place and accepted one last drink.

"You can stay if you want," the Detective said yet again, taking two mugs out of the kitchen cupboard. "You're always more than welcome to use the guest room which, by the way, is full of your clothes. Sometimes I think your messiness can actually be a good thing."

"Thanks, Maur, but I'm going to head back home and crash on my bed. I haven't fed Jo and she's going to hate me forever if I don't fill her bowl."

"Okay." Maura decided not to insist. "Do you want cream in your coffee?"

"No, just sugar, please."

They sipped their cups in silence, Maura her tea and Jane her coffee.

"Have you thought about the witness program?", the Detective dared to ask.

Jane took the time to blow a few times on her fuming beverage before answering.

"A little. I still don't like the idea but I don't like the idea of dying either, so it kinda makes sense. Is there _any_ other solution."

"With the time we have, unless we pray for a miracle I doubt there is anything safer."

The brunette sighed.

"You know what it means if I go to witness protection."

"Yes," Maura barely mouthed.

"I like my life, Maura. I know it sounds incredibly selfish but I don't want to just draw a line on all of this."

"I know."

"And-," Jane began but felt silent, biting her lower lip.

"And what?" Maura pressed her on, sliding a hand over Jane's right one.

Jane's eyes looked up directly into her own. Somewhere in the infinite shades of green and gold that laid there, she found the courage to say what she wasn't sure she should.

"And I don't want to draw a line on you."

The blonde squeezed her hand with a strength that, she hoped, would convey the colossal quantity – if not the nature – of everything she was feeling.

"I'd rather have you safe than near me, even if I hate the idea."

"So I'm not the only one who isn't a huge fan of this solution."

"Of course not, but it would be the best way to ensure your protection."

"You could protect me, you're a cop."

Maura made a sad smile.

"I thought about it. I thought about it very seriously actually, but I am only human and I couldn't rely on myself alone to keep you safe."

"I could. I trust you."

The Detective saw with a bit of surprise that the brunette was being utterly serious.

"I want to believe it but I can't risk you under the pretext that I feel like a superwoman."

"You're a pretty great woman, if you ask me."

Maura blushed a little but became serious quickly after.

"Think about it more, please. But make your decisions quickly."

"We have until Monday. On Sunday I'll tell you."

Maura kept for herself that on Sunday everything would already be set for Jane to enter the witness program, thanks to Susie's help.

"I should get going," Jane said, looking at her watch. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Do you want to have a late brunch somewhere?"

"Definitely. I'll call you."

She bent to press her lips to Maura's forehead and the blonde leaned into the kiss.

As always, the Detective felt an immense void swallow her the moment her best friend closed the door behind her.

* * *

Jane unlocked her car from a distance and opened the driver's door. She took the time to calm her racing mind before turning the ignition on and buckling up. Being careful with Maura's Prius that was parked near, she backed away in the alley and took the direction of her apartment.

She quickly got lost in her own thoughts while her body was switching to autopilot mode – she could have driven back home from Maura's place with her eyes closed.

Even if the mere idea made her skin itch, she had to admit that witness program was the safest way to stay alive. Aside from that major point, there was not a single ting she liked about this alternative.

She would have to break off the ties with everyone she had ever known and loved, start fresh somewhere new, be someone new. She didn't want any of this. Not when she hadn't had the chance to tell Maura how she felt.

It hadn't taken a long time for Jane to feel at ease with the Detective, and it took even less time for her to start developing very strong feelings for the blonde. Although her attraction had been almost immediate, putting a name on it was what had taken forever.

All the pieces of the puzzles had been right in front of her, explicitly displayed, but Jane had only realized about a year ago, and after years of ambiguous friendship, that she had feelings for Maura. She had no idea if her best friend had some kind of attraction towards her too. She sent all kinds of signal that pointed in that direction but, Jane being the only best friend the Detective had ever had, she wasn't sure if it was just extra friendship for all the missed opportunities in her youth or if it was indeed real conscious flirting.

So no, Jane didn't want to go to witness protection. She had no desire to lose her best friend and the faint possibility of maybe exploring a more intimate relationship with Maura.

Still thinking, the brunette saw the light in front of her turn orange and pressed a little more on the acceleration pedal to avoid stopping at the red. She saw in the distance a big dog with its fur of a bright color – presumably a Golden Retriever – cross the street without looking. _This poor animal is gonna get killed_, she thought to herself.

It was a nice night in Boston. Cold but clear, and very dark. If it hadn't been for the street lights, the stars would have shone bright. Further down the street, the dog had successfully reached the other side of the road. Jane saw him desappear behind a hedge.

The second after, out of nowhere, she heard a colossal clamor and her vision went black.

* * *

When Jane reopened her eyes, there was a loud ringing in her ear. She looked around her, astounded and feeling off balance, to scan her surroundings.

She was still in her car. There was a huge impact on her windscreen, glass shattered everywhere. The driver's airbag was fully deployed, crushing Jane against the back of the seat. She saw blood on the window.

The ME made a quick check-up of her physical state. She didn't seem to have any fracture. Aside from the cuts caused by the broken glass and the severe migraine she would have because of her head bumping into the windscreen - apparently rather violently although she didn't remember any of it -, she appeared to be okay. The incision on her forehead was what the source of the splashed blood on the wind screen.

Carefully, Jane took the keys out of the ignition and pierced a hole in the airbag. She immediately felt relieve by the loss of pressure on her ribcage. With slow movements, she reached for her cellphone in her pocket. The screen had a big scratch right in its middle but luckily it was still working.

Jane didn't hesitate to compose Maura's number. It rang a few times before Maura picked up.

"Jane?" the blonde asked. Apparently she wasn't sleeping yet. "Are you home already?"

"Um, no. Maura, I need your help."

"What is it?" The tone in the Detective's voice immediately shifted when she heard Jane's surprisingly groggy voice.

"I'm fine." The brunette started saying, which only made Maura even more worried. "I had a car accident."

"Oh my God! Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I have scratches and I may need stitches on my forehead but other than that I'm okay."

"Where are you?"

"At the corner of Revere and" she paused to look at the name of the street "Anderson."

"I'm leaving now."

Jane could hear the sound of Maura's keys being taken from the bowl in the entry of her house.

"Stay silent but don't hang up. Stay in the car. No lights."

"Okay," the ME said.

"Don't hang up."

"I won't."

"Okay. Good. I'm coming to get you."

There were sounds of a door being open and slammed shut, then of a engine starting, of the hand brake being lowered down and finally of the automatic gear lever moved presumably to the 'D' position. The Italian woman lowered herself on her seat and kept the phone against her ears. She heard Maura comment a few times on bad drivers and slow traffic lights.

In less than ten minutes, the Detective was parking her car near where Jane's one had driven off the street, impaling itself in a tree. She gasped at the sight and rushed to her friend's side.

"Oh my God," she said to herself.

Jane had already started to extricate herself from her car. The Detective helped her by keeping the door open while gripping the brunette's forearm to pull her outside.

The sight of Jane's devastated car was alarming but it did seem like there was not as much harm done as expected. Maura wanted to check on Jane and ask her the million questions she had in mind, but she preferred getting her safe.

"Can you walk?"

"Yeah."

The Detective wrapped one of the brunette's arms around her shoulders anyway, gripping her firmly by the waist, and guided her towards her car. She waited to hear the click of Jane's buckle being locked before turning the engine on.

"I'm taking you to the hospital and then you're staying at my place," the blonde announced.

"I don't need to go to the hospital. I only bumped my head."

"You need a scan. I've bumped my head several times and always had to get one."

"I don't need to go see doctors in the hospital when I'm one myself."

"You work on _dead_ people, Jane. The whole purpose of this is to keep you alive."

"Believe it or not, I know a thing or two about the Living too and I tell you I'm fine. If I have a headache too strong tomorrow I'll go to the hospital."

"God, you are so stubborn. Let me take you to the hospital, please. We'll go find Frankie, you said he had a night shift."

"Fine," Jane grunted. "But only because Frankie is there."

Maura silently exulted. She continue to drive, looking sideways at Jane from time to time to check on her, a nervous gesture the brunette was not oblivious about.

"What is your name?" the blonde asked out of the blue.

"What? Maura, you called me by my name five minutes ago."

"What day is it?"

"Really?" Jane asked with her typical I-can't-even-believe-you tone.

"What is my name?"

"Jesus Christ," the ME grumbled. "You are Maura Isles, Homicide Detective of the Boston Police Department. I am Jane Rizzoli, Chief Medical Examiner of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. We are in Boston. It's the 21st century. Your current favorite song is Run The World by Beyoncé. We ate a weird salad at lunch and if Doyle were not your father I would kill him, send his head to Branco and hide the rest of the body so no one would know it was me."

Maura let out a nervous laugh that even Jane's last comment didn't stop. At least she hadn't lost anything of her wit.

* * *

A few hours later – a real test of self-control for Jane and pf patience for Maura – the Detective was parking her car in her driveway, bringing with her a tired ME whose forehead was decorated with five stitches and a band aid to cover it. Thanks to Frankie, the two women had spent a record time in the hospital. The other Rizzoli had for some reason accepted the vague version of the accident, stitched his sister up and let her go making her promise to come back to the hospital the moment she felt dizziness or headaches appear. She, on the other hand, had made her brother promise that he wouldn't tell their mother, a request he had accepted remarking nevertheless that Angela would be very aware of Jane's pretty serious cut when she would see her on Sunday. The ME didn't have a choice, but at least it bought her time before her mother's dramatic reaction for which she had no energy for at the moment.

Two hours only after Maura had picked Jane up, they were back in Beacon Hill, ready for some sleep and calm. The Detective got out and circled the car to open the door on Jane's side. The brunette accepted the blonde muscled forearm to help her out of the vehicle. They entered the Isles mansion – really, it was an enormous house –, locked after themselves and sat at the same spot they had occupied in the kitchen before Jane had left Maura earlier, with a still functioning car and a smooth forehead.

The blonde had been really silent ever since they had left the hospital and Jane was starting to worry about it. She had tried to make her talk but she clearly wouldn't, not tonight at least.

"Do you need something?" the Detective asked, making Jane almost jump after her long muteness.

"Hum, an Advil if you have one maybe?"

"Sure. I should have some in the bathroom upstairs. Just let me get it."

"Thanks."

With this, Maura left the brunette temporarily alone in the kitchen. Of course the gears started turning in the Doctor's head.

"Are you okay?" the blonde inquired when she came back, seeing Jane deeply lost in her thoughts.

"Huh? Oh... yeah. I was thinking about the car accident. Either they weren't good at running people over with their car, or they didn't want me dead. Either way, I sense there is a strong message behind it."

"It doesn't sound like you think it was an accident."

"Of course it wasn't."

"The two main possibilities are either that Doyle tried to kill you and purposefully failed, or that Branco is getting impatient and decided to get things done himself."

"What do you think it is?"

"I can't guess, Jane."

"I'm asking your detective opinion. What is the most probable between the two?"

"They are both equally possible."

Jane stared at Maura but the Detective wouldn't look her in the eyes.

"I'm really tired, I'm going to go to bed," the blonde announced. "Tell me if you need anything."

She left the room and Jane felt the air become thinner. Maura had something on her mind, something she didn't want to talk about.

The ME jumped for good when she suddenly heard a scratching noise coming from behind her. With a relieved laugh she saw it was only Bass, Maura's weird tortoise pet named after a famous scientist, an idea from Maura's adopted parents who had initially wanted their daughter to be a scientist.

"Hey there, buddy," she said affectionately to the quite big living creature on the floor. "Did your mum forget to feed you? Here." She took a few cactus leaves from the fridge where the Detective usually put them and placed it on the tortoise's plate. "There you go."

Bass didn't show much gratitude, not that she expected any.

"I should head to bed too. Be nice, Bass."

The ME made a quick tour around the house to make sure everything was locked. She knew Maura had most likely made sure of it but she needed a good excuse to pace a little more before turning and tossing in bed.

Resigned and feeling sleep eluding her, Jane then laid for a long time awake in the king bed of Maura's guest room. She was tired but, once again, there was no way she would find sleep tonight.

* * *

**A/N: Phew. hope it wasn't too long for you.**** So now Frankie is in the story too. Did you guess right what his job was?**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hello dear followers, favoriters, reviewers and other readers. I present you with another chapter of this AU story. I hope you like it =)**  
**As some may wonder (and some have explicitely asked about it), I am reminding you this is a Rizzles story and a slow burn. It will take time to get to the fluffy good stuff (good stuff come to those who wait, right?). I can tell you though that we're now a lot nearer the sweet Rizzzles love than we were at the beginning (yes this is vague and no I'm not going to be any more precise).**  
**Happy reading. Peace and rainbows!**

* * *

Maura somehow managed to sleep an hour or so before waking up. The second she opened her eyes, she knew she could never go back to sleep. She sighed and didn't even try to look at the time. It was still pitched black outside. The weak glow of the street lights painted the outlines of Maura's room.

With a long expiration, she sat up and observed the dark room around her. Her clothes were neatly folded on the chair by her bed. The door of her bathroom was slightly ajar, leaving a trail of weak light in the shape of a long triangle. Despite the furnitures and the paintings on the wall, the room seemed empty. A scoop of pure void shaped like a cubic space.

Maura felt cold. Even the silence felt cold to her.

Her mind naturally found its way from a morn shapeless path of thoughts to Jane, her warm and so living friend who had come so close to being dead. Maybe the one who ran her over didn't really want to kill her, like the ME had suggested. But how close had she actually gotten to death? How lucky had Jane been to walk away alive from her devastated car?

The blonde shivered at the thought. She had been terrified when she had received Jane's call. Terrified and guilty. She shouldn't have left her friend alone. She should have insisted for her to stay at her place.

As soon as Maura had picked Jane up and made sure her best friend was okay, terror quickly left only to be replaced by an emotion as violent. Rage. Intense, unadulterated rage directed towards Doyle, Branco and whoever was involved in that car accident. That was what she felt. Cold rage.

Doyle had promised Maura he would leave them three days. He had said he wouldn't try too hard to kill Jane. _What a sack of lies_, the Detective thought. She had been delusional to believe she could actually trust to the mob boss on this. Maura had tried to tame her anger but she was way too furious at her father to tone down.

Finally looking at the alarm clock on her bedside table, Maura saw the green digits flash 5am. She made an instant decision and searched for her phone. After sending a text message, she called Susie. Maura didn't like bothering people this early on a weekend day but this was important.

"Uhg… Chang," said the groggy voice of the woman.

"Susie, it's Maura. Sorry to disturb you at such an hour."

"Maura? What is it? Are you okay?"

"Yes. I need a favor.""

"Hum, okay."

"I need you and two other men to come at my house and make sure no one gets in or comes out. I also need you to be very discreet. You have to believe me, now is not a time to alarm the cavalry."

"Come now? Like, right now you mean?"

"As soon as possible."

Maura heard the shuffle of fabric and a sound of a jeans zipper.

"Are you okay?" Chang asked again.

"Jane is here, she's sleeping in the guest room. No one comes in the house, am I clear?"

"Are you ever going to tell me what's going on?"

"Explaining everything would be too long and I don't have that kind of time. I'm sorry. I will explain everything, just not now."

"Does Dr. Rizzoli know we're coming?"

"No and she doesn't need to know for the moment. If she asks, tell her I'm doing this for her own good. When can you be here?"

"I just texted Donovan and Mitchell, we should be there in a few minutes."

"Ok. I'm leaving in five minutes, make sure you're here when I'm not."

"Got it. Be careful."

"Thank you, Susie."

Maura hung up and went in her closet to put something warm.

* * *

Jane stopped the uncoordinated rythm her fingers were tapping on her stomach when she heard noises. Slowly, she got out of bed and walked towards the door of the guest room, focusing on whatever it was that she was hearing.

With her ear stuck to the door, she realized it was the sound of a voice. Maura's voice. She couldn't make out what she was saying and the blonde stopped before she could actually hear anything. Who was her friend talking to? To herself maybe? Was she on the phone?

Jane looked at the time and considered it an odd hour to call someone. The ME couldn't help feeling suspicious.

With as much caution as she could, the brunette opened the door and poked her head outside. Maura wasn't talking anymore but she could hear the blonde move around. There was a sound of hangers racking along the rail and drawers being shut, but it was all faint. She wouldn't have heard it if she hadn't been awake and with her head peeking out in the corridor.

Why was Maura getting dressed? Or was she organizing her closet, yet again? The Italian doubted it, truth be said.

Following her instincts, Jane dressed herself with a pair of jeans and a warm sweater. When she was putting the second sock, she heard the noise of Maura's door being opened. She listened carefully at the blonde's step that she could barely perceive over her own breathing. When the stairs creaked a little, she risked a look outside and caught a glance of Maura going downstairs.

She took her mobile phone and hurried out, following the Detective without being spotted.

* * *

When Maura was fully dressed, aside from her shoes that were in the hall of her house, she took her gun from her safety box, slid it in the back of her pants, and grabbed her phone. The Detective then silently made her way outside her bedroom. At the top of the stairs, she resisted the urge to check on Jane and left instead the door ajar as it was. She went downstairs, put her boots, her coat and her scarf before going out and locking the door behind her.

* * *

Jane saw Maura lock the door after she had closed it and silently swore.

Quickly running upstairs, she found her key ring and checked that the emergency key the Detective had given her hung there – which was gladly the case. Then she rushed outside and took her mother's car to follow Maura. Angela would have to forgive her for the borrow - but she had said it was for emergencies, and this was an emergency, right? Jane always complained about the fact that her mother was living in Maura's guest house, 'invading her privacy' as the ME liked to put it, but now was a rare case when she actually felt grateful for it.

She had a feeling the blonde was up to something bad, potentially highly dangerous. The last thing she wanted was to see her getting hurt, especially if it was somehow because of her, something her guts were telling her it was.

* * *

Maura drove to the same deserted apartments where she had met Doyle two days before. Once again, she parked her car in a nearby alley, concealed from everyone's eyes, and went up to the third floor. Everything was exactly the same as she remembered it, except this time no one was in the room.

A vibration in her pocket startled the Detective. She took her phone out and saw that it was Susie calling. Hopefully she had already gotten to her house by now. The blonde pressed the 'Accept' button and put the cellphone to her ear. Detective Chang didn't waste time in greetings.

"Maura, we didn't see any movement in your house so I went in to check and Dr. Rizzoli is not here."

"What?"

"We looked everywhere. She's not at Frankie's, Frost hasn't seen her and her neighbors didn't see her coming back to her apartment. She doesn't answer her phone either."

The Detective brought her hand to her mouth. Why wasn't she there? If she had checked earlier on Jane before leaving the house, would she have found the room empty? Did Jane even spend the night? Maura doubted the ME would have left without saying a word.

"Can you track her phone?"

"Yes… yes we can. Maura, how serious is this?"

The blonde looked at the devastated sight around her, the walls on which the papers hung low, partially scratched, the layers of dust on the floor, the pieces of broken furniture left behind for no one.

Her eyes fell on a pair of black shoes. She looked up to see Doyle observing her.

"Do it and make sure she's safe," the Detective said into the phone before she hung up.

On the other side of the line, Susie stared at her phone frowning. This whole super secret operation no one knew about was starting to bother her. What exactly was going on?

Maura looked at her father with a cold glare. She felt the rage she had managed to keep in control coming back bubbling at the surface.

"You said we had three days," she practically growled, taking a few angry steps towards him. "You promised you'd leave us three days!"

"I did and you still have until tomorrow. I'm keeping my promise."

"Running Jane over with a car is not keeping your promise!"

Paddy's constant state of indifference didn't do anything to calm her down, on the contrary.

"She's not dead, is she?"

"God help me I would kill you with my bare hands if she was."

Doyle looked at his daughter with something that resembled sadness in his eyes.

"I didn't do it."

"I don't care," Maura articulate through her fury. "You said we had three days. Jane almost died because you can't keep your promise!"

"You knew she was not safe. I can't watch over everything Karl does. And you're lucky he and I are the only ones to know about Jane's excessive curiosity. I-"

He was interrupted by someone's entrance. It was almost a running gag, Maura and Doyle being cut off by someone when they were talking about Jane.

"Paddy, glad to find you here."

Maura could not believe her eyes. She had never met the person standing at the entrance of the room but she would recognize him anywhere. She watched with disbelief Karl Branco, dressed up like he was a member of Al Capone's gang in the 40's take a few steps in their direction.

"Am I interrupting?" he asked with a fake polite tone.

"What are you doing here, Karl?"

"I'm just checking on you. I'm glad I did, now I can see you cohorting with the enemy."

He casted a dark look at Maura.

"You're the BPD Detective who was in the newspaper, aren't you?"

Maura Isles had become famous for a little period of time because of the arrest of Hoyt, the one right before he had escaped to chase Jane. She didn't answer but crossed her hands behind her, feeling the hardness of her gun press against her wrists.

"Are you planning my betrayal, Paddy?" he asked, turning his attention to Doyle again.

"No, this is not business related."

"Oh, I see. Having a little fun, are we? I didn't know you were feisty like that. I can't blame you however."

His ogling look almost made Maura shiver but she kept her composure.

The blonde realized Branco didn't know she was Doyle's daughter. He probably didn't know that she had any kind of relation with Jane either.

"See, Paddy," Branco continued "I asked you to do a job, and the job is not done. I'm sorry to bother you in a middle of this but we have some serious things to discuss and I'm afraid it can't wait."

"I told you I would take care of it."

"You did, but what about it, Paddy? The job isn't done and yet I gave you way enough time for it. I didn't think age made you less efficient. And now I have to bother you in the middle of private business. I'd hate it if there were any… side effects to my impatience."

His eyes lingered towards Maura and she unconsciously inched her right hand towards her Glock.

"It's done," Doyle's voice broke the silence.

Branco immediately gave him his attention again.

"It's done," he repeated. "I took care of it earlier. This (his hand made a back and forth movement between Maura and himself) has nothing to do with it. It's purely private."

"Why didn't you tell me the job was done, it would have prevented me from being this angry against you. You know anger management is not my best trait."

"I've just had confirmation it was done."

"No," Maura heard herself whisper.

"What? What is it, my dear?" Karl asked with a suspicious look.

The Detective looked at Doyle with visible distress, her face pale as death.

"You did not-," she started, rage coming full force again.

What Susie had said earlier resounded in her head. She saw again the scene of the accident. Jane in her wrecked car, the bloody cut on her forehead, her tired look. She saw herself glance at the half opened door of the guest room where Jane had been supposed to be. Where was she?

This was not happening. Jane was not dead...

A phone rang. It was not Maura's this time.

The three of them looked at each other, startled, before turning towards the door, where the sound was coming from. Branco took out a gun from under his vest and Maura grabbed by reflex her own.

Several things happened successively after that, at what seemed like lightning speed.

Karl yelled "What the hell?" when he saw Maura take her gun.

Maura raised hers in response to Branco's movement.

Someone shouted "NO!" and Maura saw with utter stupefaction Jane enter the room.

Doyle cursed and Branco glanced behind him to watch the ME run in his direction.

He instantly changed his target and pointed his armed hand at the brunette.

The sound of a shot resonated and the silence afterwards was louder than any noise.

A few seconds passed. The air was so full and empty Maura felt dizzy.

The Detective looked at Jane, who was on the floor, and rushed at her side. In the middle of the room, Branco was lying on the dusty ground, a bullet lodged in his heart. Doyle went to the body and checked his pulse.

"He's dead," he said, taking the gun from the still warm hand.

Maura didn't care and probably hadn't heard. She sat next to Jane and left her pistol on the floor to grab two strong shoulders.

"Oh my God, Jane, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I slipped. I'm fine."

"What are you doing here?"

Anger and fear had mixed in Maura's heart, what she felt was now a mess of adrenaline and panic.

"I followed you here," the brunette explained. "I thought maybe you would go see Doyle."

She looked up at him while saying his name and her eyes widened.

The ME heard Susie's voice calling her name behind her and saw Paddy aim his gun to shoot. Her left hand came in contact with Maura's Glock when she tried to get on her feet. Without thinking, she took it and shot, like the blonde had taught her.

Left hand on the handle, index along the trigger, right hand on top, canon pointed at the aim a little higher than what it looked like from the distance because of the perspective. Arms equally tensed. Index on the trigger.

A firm push.

A loud bang.

It all happened in a few seconds. Before anyone could really comprehend what was going on they were all staring at Doyle stagger a few steps forward, a hand on his chest were a large stain of blood was quickly expanding. He fell on a knee before he lost balance and sagged on his side.

"No!" Maura's broken voice shattered the heavy silence and resonated like a million cries of terror.

Behind her, Jane felt Susie help her up. She gripped her arm and got back up on her feet. The weight of the gun in her hand was suddenly colossal. The ME left it on the floor and made a few steps towards her friend.

The blonde was on her knees next to her father, trying to press on the wound to stop the bleeding.

"Maura," she whispered, her voice on the verge of cracking.

"Don't come closer."

The icy tone of her voice froze her in place.

"Please let me look at his wound."

"Get out."

"Maura," the ME pleaded.

"GET OUT!"

The roar of her words ricocheted against the old walls of the dirty room.

"Doctor Rizzoli," Susie softly said. "There's a police car downstairs, you should go wait with them."

Jane looked at her with a distant look, as if she was not seeing her. The small woman saw the brunette barely nod before she left.

Susie then used her mobile phone to call an ambulance and backup. After picking Maura's gun from the floor, she approached her partner, who was still applying pressure on her father's wound.

"Maura, an ambulance is coming."

The blonde looked up and the other woman saw the panic in her eyes. The Detective, usually so composed, was very close to losing it.

"It's going to be okay. The medics are on their way. It's going to be fine."

Maura still had the crazy look, and still no words came out of her mouth. Just as she was trying to find what to say to calm her, Susie heard the siren of the ambulance.

The past few hours had been a sequel of events at full speed. She had been woken up by Maura, had gathered a team in emergency in the middle of the night, had gone to Maura's house to make sure Jane was safe, only to find that Jane was nowhere to be found. She had then activated the localization system on the Doctor's phone and followed her trace to this old deserted apartment.

And now a couple of medics were bringing Branco's dead body and Doyle's barely living one downstairs, Maura following the procession, Susie on their tail.

The backup had arrived. Chang gave a few orders and went to check on Maura. The blonde was hopping inside of the ambulance to stay with Paddy. She assured Susie she was okay and asked her to call Cavanaugh and tell him about what had happened. The Detective knew the Lieutenant would call her to know exactly what was going on.

As she watched the paramedics car drive away, the younger Detective felt someone's presence by her side.

"How is she?" the familiar raspy voice belonging to the ME asked.

"I think she's in shock and she hasn't processed everything yet."

Jane drew a shaky breathe.

"I shot him."

Susie looked at the ME from the corner of her eyes.

"He's Maura's father, isn't he?"

Jane first frowned at the obvious piece of news, but then she remembered that only Cavanaugh, Korsak, Maura and herself knew that specific information within the Police Force.

"How do you know that?"

"I had a hunch."

"Huh," Jane said uttered, truly impressed. "So I'm not the only one who relies on their intestines."

Susie laughed quietly then stayed silent for some time.

"Why are you here anyway?" Jane asked. "I mean, were you looking for us? Were you following Maura too?"

"Maura called me earlier to ask me to keep you safe. We went to her house but you weren't there. So I looked for you and when I couldn't find you anywhere, I tracked your cellphone. I tried to call you."

"Yeah, that was a bad timing by the way."

"Sorry."

"That's fine, you couldn't know," the brunette sighed.

"Was that Karl Branco lying on the floor, back inside?"

"Yeah."

"Wow."

Jane casted a sideways glance at her.

"I mean, Doyle and Branco in the same room. That's kind of… intense."

"Tell me about it," the brunette huffed.

She put her head in her hand, hurting herself in the process because of her still tender wound on her forehead.

"Oh my God, I shot Maura's father," she said as the reality sank in. "She hates me."

"She doesn't hate you."

"You haven't seen how she looked at me."

"She's angry at you, but she'll come along. Maura and you go way back."

"I don't know if history can help us here. I shot her dad for God's sakes."

She rubbed her face and hissed when she pulled on her stitches.

"How did you get this? You were still stitches-free at the Robber."

"I had a car accident when I was going home from the Robber. No serious injuries, just a bump on my head."

Susie looked at her with suspicion.

"What? Chang, stop looking at me like that, I'm not one of your suspects."

"Something tells me that all the events in the last 48 hours are no coincidences."

"Damn you and your detective skills," the ME grumbled. "You'll know about it soon enough. Hasn't Cavanaugh alerted half of the BPD yet?"

"No, but Maura asked me to call him."

She took out her mobile phone and searched for his number. It was already 7am, their boss would probably be up, even on a Saturday morning. Jane observed her attentively during the whole phone call.

"He wants to see Maura and you at 10am at the precinct," Susie announced after she had hung up.

Jane took a deep breathe.

"Okay. Thanks for everything, Chang."

"I should be the one thanking you. You kind of saved my life in there."

"I… um. Yeah. That was… normal."

"Not really, no," Susie laughed. "Nice reflex for a Doctor."

"Maura taught me how to shoot."

"She's a good teacher. But really though, thank you for saving me."

"You're welcome."

Jane put her hands in her pockets and came in contact with her keychain. She took it out and then looked at her mother's car, parked in front of a now crime scene.

"I should get this car back where it belongs."

"I'm sorry to tell you that I'll have to follow you until you're safe."

"Must you really?"

"Yes," dared answer Susie. She was following orders after all.

"Fine, as long as I get to drive. Let's go."

* * *

**A/N: That was my AU remake of Doyle's shooting. I hope you liked this chapter, the other one early next week hopefully!**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Dear readers who may or may not openly express their love for this story (and its writer?), we are gathered here today for a new chapter, in the delay I had promised (look at me being reliable). I hope you like it. It's shorter than the last one, hopefully I'll upload an update later in the week.**  
**I hope those of you still on board are having a good time reading.**  
**Without further due, let's roll!**

* * *

Maura was brought to the hospital with Doyle who remained unconscious the whole time. An officer was nice enough to follow her there with her car so that she could have it available and within reach. Jane went back to her apartment where two Police officers stayed with her for protection. Susie went with her and left the ME only when she was sure she was home safely.

It was strange to do sensible things when there was such a strong sense of chaos. Jane felt like Maura's anger was a ticking bomb on its way to explode. Maura was still on the thin line between reason and utter panic. Branco was dead, and that was maybe yet the only positive outcome of the past hours.

10am arrived at BDP's headquarters, and with it a worried Jane and a icy Maura. Cavanaugh was waiting for them in his office, dressed in casual attire and not shaven. They all greeted each other courtly and cut right to the chase.

"Would one of you explain to me what the hell is happening?" Cavanaugh started with preamble. "Just when the toughest case we've had this week finally has an opening, one of my best detectives and the Chief Medical Examiner of Massachusetts are found together in a room with two mob bosses, one of which is dead, the other one severely wounded. Care to enlighten me? Isles?"

Maura stood calm with her back straight while explaining, showing nothing of her internal turmoil.

"Two days ago, Doyle left a message at my house saying he had something important to tell me. I had not had contact with him since he was sent to Mexico and was not expecting to have any so this took me by surprise. He told me it was about Doctor Rizzoli, which made me fear it was something really important."

Jane looked at her friend. The contrast between how formally she had referred to her and her confession of caring about her left the ME even more troubled. Maura was really mad at her apparently, even more than it appeared.

"Are you telling me you went to see Doyle?" Cavanaugh asked with irritation. "Is that what you were doing there last night?"

"No, I went to see him once before, to clarify what he had to tell me that was so important. I saw him for the second time last night to have a serious talk about certain... agreements."

Maura's inability to lie was not going to help them calm down the Lieutenant who was now starting to be really angry.

"What?" he roared.

"Please, sir, let her explain everything. It's not-" Jane intervened.

"Dr. Rizzoli, I advise you to wait for your turn to speak. From what I understood you've been hiding pretty serious informations from me, so I'd suggest you stay silent for now."

"Yes, sir," the Doctor said lowering, her head.

She had heard of times when their chief was furious, seeing the living proof was something entirely more impressing.

"Isles, explain," he barked.

The Detective executed herself. She explained everything, she even talked about the witness protection program and how she had suggested that Jane could use it for her own protection. Cavanaugh seemed to grow redder each passing minute. He asked Jane for her side of the story. Her version was the same, she only filled a few missing gaps for the events of the night, including how Chang had come to Doyle and Maura's meeting point without exactly meaning to.

"Isles," Cavanaugh sighed, scratching his morning beard. "You are a clever person, and one of Boston's finest detectives. How could you have put yourself in this kind of situation? Do you have any idea of what we almost had to deal with? Doyle AND Branco working with one of our detectives in an affair involving another member of BPD. And Dr. Rizzoli, when were you planning on talking to me about this vast research of yours on the mob network?"

"Soon, sir," the brunette answered. "I wanted to have a complete and thorough work to present you. I just needed a few more information."

"We are lucky only Doyle and Branco know about this. Isles, you're sure that's the case?"

"I don't think Doyle wanted to trick me. He was trying to make a point and let the information slip."

The Lieutenant nodded and turned to the Italian.

"Dr. Rizzoli, no more secret researches. I'm going to need everything you have on Boston's mob as soon as possible. Everything, I mean it."

"Yes, sir."

"You two are off duty starting now and for a week. Isles, leave your badge and gun on your desk. You'll have them back in seven days, until then I think it's best you're not tempted to use them for a wrong purpose, even if it's with a good intention. Doctor, you're off too, so I don't want to see you anywhere near your morgue. I expect you two to take a step back and think about the huge mess you nearly made."

They both nodded silently.

"Ca I go see Doyle at the hospital?" Maura dared to ask.

"Yes, as a civil. You'll listen to the officers there. If they don't want you in, you don't come in."

The blonde nodded again.

"I'm sorry, Isles," Cavanaugh added with a sincere tone. "I know he's your father but those are the rules. You both can go."

They said goodbye and exited his office. Maura walked fast to the elevator and made sure the door closed before Jane could come in. Swearing, the brunette rushed to the stairs. She managed to catch the Detective before she stepped through the large doors at the entrance of the precinct.

"Maura! Please, wait," she called.

The blonde stopped, one hand on the bar of the door. Jane took her chance.

"Maura, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

The Detective turned around with glassy eyes.

"Does it make you feel better to be sorry? Is it going to make you sleep at night? Is you being sorry going to make anything better?"

The sight of her best friend on the verge of crying made to Jane the effect of a blade lacerating her torso.

"No," the brunette barely whispered. She searched for her hazel eyes and found tears and hurt. "I acted out on instincts. He was going to shoot Chang. I didn't want to do it bit I acted out on instincts."

"You don't know if he would have done it."

"Of course he would have!" Jane exclaimed. "He would have tried to shoot me if I had been the one to barge into the room while he had a gun in his hand. I did it to protect your partner."

"Are you saying I can't protect my own partner?"

Maura was boiling. Jane actually feared that this was turning into something entirely deeper. She knew the Detective had a lot of personal issues she usually kept bottled up, like not being there to save Jane from Hoyt, or leaving him escape before that, or earlier letting Jane drive back home on her own.

"Wha-… no, of course not," the ME protested, shaking her head. "I'm trying to make you understand why I did it. I know you're angry at me but I want you to understand the motives behind my reaction. I'm… I want you to understand so that you don't hate me."

"Jane, you were threatened to be killed, I almost lost you twice and my biological father may or may not be dying because of you, all of this within the last 72 hours. I don't know how I feel. Everything is a mess. I have a lot to deal with at the moment, I would appreciate if you left me alone for the time being."

The Italian saw her fighting against tears and felt her own eyes start to water.

"Okay." She barely breathed the next words. "I'm sorry."

Maura didn't say anything else. She turned her heels and left. Jane stayed a whole minute standing in the hall of BPD's headquarters, emotions pounding into her like hits of hammer. Slowly, as if she were in a dream, she made her way towards the patrol car of the officer who had driven her here.

* * *

Frankie came to see Jane and check on her wounds. The cut on her forehead looked good and the little scratches due to the shattered pieces of glass were already scaring.

The ME told her brother about Maura. It was frustrating because she could not say everything, a lot of the information around the events being confidential, but still, even talking in puzzles about how she felt helped.

Frankie asked in which room of the hospital that "person Maura knew" was. Jane didn't know but she told him he would have to look for a room guarded by Police officers. The younger Rizzoli promised he would keep her informed on whatever he would find.

Although Jane more than often cursed at her family and complained about the noise and the drama, she also realized she was lucky to have a family this close and loyal. Tommy, her youngest brother, was a little lost and a little confused about where the limits of legality were drawn, but he was a true person with a big heart. He was not currently around but no doubt he would end up in trouble somehow and ask ihs brother and sister for help. Angela, their mother, was the purest cliché of the mama bear but there wasn't anything she wouldn't do for her children. Frank, their father, had been a good dad until he had run away with a girl half his age, leaving his family behind without a blink. This had been a hard blow on everyone in the Rizzoli's household, but it had also made them grew even stronger within their tighter circle.

No matter how hard they fought, they were a clan and always helped each other out. Which was what Frankie was doing. He understood that the nature of his sister's job brought a lot of mysteries in whatever was happening in her life, but he also knew she was his sister and, as far as he was concerned, that was all that really mattered.

Frost called Jane and came by her apartment in the afternoon. He convinced her to call Angela before her legendary motherly instincts informed her that something was wrong with her daughter. Jane eventually accepted and suffered with unreasonable patience Angela's long monologue on how her daughter always managed to find herself in trouble even though she was supposed to only cut dead people – which, by the way, was not exactly the type of doctor she had envisioned but what could she say, her oldest child only did what she wanted and never listened to her dear mother.

After what felt like an hour on the phone – and quite nearly approached it in actual time – Jane hung up and drew a long sigh. Frost looked at her with a sympathesizing look before offering her to order food and watch TV. The brunette thanked him but pretexted that she needed some sleep. The young man said he understood. After reminding her that he was only a phone call away, he left the ME with her two bodyguards – one cop patrolling in the staircases, another one in the entrance of the building.

In all honesty, Jane did need sleep. She was spent and her nerves were so tender she didn't know if she wanted to punch a hole in her wall, cry until there were no tears left in her body, or both. She settled on a warm cup of coffee on her couch, her eyes staring at empty space while her mind was so full it could explode.

* * *

Frankie smiled at the cute nurse at the ER reception desk. She giggled when he called her by her name. The orthopedic surgeon knew he would have the information he wanted in matters of seconds when she started twirling her hair around her finger with a flirty look.

Because he worked at the hospital and was a doctor, he could rightfully ask for information about patients even if they weren't his, but sometimes people working at the reception desk were lazy and moody, not to mention the little wars of power and priviledges taking place between the members of the hospital. You would think they would all be united under the same banner of saving people's life, but everything was always way more complicated than it should be.

When the nurse at the reception gave Frankie a piece of paper on which was written with a neat script a name and a number, he winked at her. She giggled once more and blushed slightly. Young women in the hospital – and a few men – usually liked the dark-haired Italian doctor. In their defense, the Rizzoli's had some pretty handsome genes running in the family.

Frankie made his way to the left aisle of Massachusetts General Hospital and looked at the scribbled paper.

_Patrick Doyle. 315._

He frowned. The name reminded him of something, but what was it?

When Frankie arrived at room #315, he first saw two Police men standing on each side of the door. Then he saw people moving in agitation inside the room. The young doctor recognized one of his interns in the little crowd. They seemed to be checking the patient's vitals. Something in the way his intern was frowning told him it was not all good.

A voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Frankie?"

With a disbelieved look, the doctor saw Maura come to him, her make-up smudged and a tissue in her hand. She looked terrible.

"Maura? What's wrong? What's happening?"

He was talking about whatever was occurring in the room currently and she knew it.

"His heart stopped," the blonde said with a constricted voice. "His heart stopped all of a sudden."

Frankie returned his attention to the room where everyone was busy trying to keep Doyle alive.

"I'm going in. I'll tell you exactly what it is."

"Thank you, Frankie."

Without further due, the young Rizzoli barged into the room. Maura only heard "What do we have?" and the intern answering something in unintelligible medical language before the door closed itself, muffling every sound.

She stood outside waiting, never taking her eyes off the body of her mob father lying on the hospital bed.

Half an hour passed before the dynamic inside the enclosed space changed. All of a sudden they were not busying like bees around Doyle. The Detective saw Frankie say a few things to a woman in blue scrubs before he turned and left. When he opened the door he walked up to Maura.

"He had a pretty severe heart attack," he explained. "Probably the side effect of the injury caused by the bullet that was lodged only a few inches from his heart. We stabilized him for now but he's not completely out of danger yet. We'll have him on observation for the next 24 hours. If he makes it he's out of danger, until then he's in critical state."

"Can I see him?"

"You can, but I'd advise you to let him rest. You should rest too. Can I get you anything? Coffee, tea?"

"No, thanks."

"You should go home and have some sleep," Frankie advised with a tone that reminded the Detective of his sister's.

"I'd rather stay."

"Okay. Well, you can ask for me if you need anything. You have my number, or you can ask the nurses or the interns to page me."

"Thanks, Frankie."

"I gotta go, sorry. I have surgery in 15 minutes. I'll check on you later."

"There's no need, really. I'm used to being alone."

Frankie wanted to say something but his pager biped.

"Sorry."

"It's okay," Maura assured. "Go. I'll be fine."

"I'll see you later," the doctor said, already on his way to the ER.

The Detective turned away from the sight of the Rizzoli brother hurrying down the corridors. She approached the large window of the room where her biological father was unconscious. A nurse was adjusting the dose of his perfusion. The blonde watched the screen that displayed Doyle's vital informations. It was all bips and weird graphics for her.

She made the few steps that separated her from her previous sit, an uncomfortable plastic bench. Maura sat again and did the only thing she could do: wait and worry.

* * *

**A/N: This is another chapter where I pretend that I know stuff about things, namely medicine. To all the doctors, interns, nurses, patients or any other person who read that and has more knowledge than I do about actual things medical people do are allowed to point their finger at my ignorance and boo me.**

**In other news, I'm starting to think about how this is going to end. I mean, I _know_ how it is going to end (*insert evil laughter of omniscient writer here*) but I don't know yet if this is going to be one of those long fics that slowly evolves into almost a book or a series of fics, or just a nice journey of 10+ chapters exploring an idea of a story. I will most probably ask for your opinions when we're nearing the ending I have in mind.**

**I wish you all an exquisite week and a glorious day. Peace.  
(some Rizzles in the next chapter, if it makes your heart flutter like it does mine)  
**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Chapter 12 is in the house. Some Rizzles (yay!), some drama (yay?). Thank you for those who motivate me to continue writing this story, I hope you all enjoy this chapter!**  
**Peace and chocolate.**

* * *

Jane was still staring at the wall of her living room when she heard the melody of her phone ringing. She stretched her arm to reach the coffee table in front of her where her cellphone was producing light and music. The ID read 'Lil' Bro'.

"Hey, Frankie," she greeted.

"Jane, are you at your apartment?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Do you think you could get to the hospital? I think Maura needs you."

Jane immediately shot up from her couch.

"Is she alright? What is it?" she asked, switching to her protective mode.

"It's Doyle. He had a heart attack earlier and we stabilized him but he just had another one. I can't go, I'm in the middle of surgery."

"Maura's there?"

"She's been patrolling in front of the room with the other Police guys for the whole afternoon. She didn't look so good when I saw her earlier. I doubt she's doing better now."

"Ok, I'm coming. Thanks, Frankie."

"Doyle is in room 315. I'll call you later."

"Later," Jane said, already hanging up.

She got up from her couch, grabbed her coat and put on her shoes. She reached for her keys but remembered that she did not have functioning car anymore. The cop in the staircase of her apartment building got startled when she suddenly opened the door.

"Can you drive me to Boston General Hospital?" Jane asked.

"Um… sure," he answered.

During the drive, the brunette asked him to put his siren on but he refused. To avoid her stubborn and impatient remarks, he indulged in driving a little faster than he would have normally done.

She fidgeted and worried every second it took them to drive to the hospital.

* * *

It took Jane five minutes to get to the room #315. During those minutes, she rushed in the disinfected corridors of the hospital; eyes turned at her as she passed by tired patients and concerned families.

Although she was a doctor, Jane didn't like hospitals. They only meant bad memories and stinky linos. She was actually glad she worked on dead people, as weird as this could sound. Living ones were complicated and fragile. She would have never trusted herself in the lives of people, not that directly at least.

The brunette finally spotted a sign on a wall that said '306 - 315' with an arrow pointing to the right. She followed that direction and immediately spotted her best friend.

Maura was standing in the middle of the hallway, her arms crossed on her chest and one hand clasped on her mouth. She appeared to have been crying judging by her messed-up make-up and the tissue she was gripping with her other hand. She looked so fragile, her hair messy and still wearing her clothes from the night before. People were moving around her but the blonde seemed to have stopped. She was just standing there while life was sliding and escaping, looking like a roc in a running river.

The image hit the ME like a train. She stopped right in the middle of a long stride and stared at her best friend as if it was the first time she was her.

That's when Jane realized how lonely Maura must have been.

Ever since they had come back from the crime scene where Branco had been shot, Jane had spent a long moment with her brother who had offered her his care and promise of help. Frost had come to see her and she had talked to her mother on the phone. Meanwhile, Maura had been waiting in the alcohol scented corridors of the hospital, alone. There was little doubt that her parents hadn't called the Detective. It would have been close to a miracle if she had indeed received a phone call from them. Jane hoped that at least Susie had called Maura - although Susie was not Jane.

The brunette was Maura's best friend, a job she took pride in. Maura was one of the most important people in her life, the kind of people you want to put in a box, shower with love and cherish for as long as you're alive. Jane had a been a poor excuse of a best friend lately. By all means it was Jane's duty to be with Maura, emotionaly and physically, and she wasn't. But the ME was on her way to make it right, or at least try to.

Finding how to move again, Jane set her body in motion. When she was only a few steps from her friend, she called to her.

The Detective registered her name being said and turned to see the source of the calling. Against all odds, she saw the tall brunette standing there, arms on her side, phone and keys in her hands.

The situation of semi-reverie – semi-nightmare, really – gave everything a feeling of surrealism. She looked at Jane with an enhanced awareness. The ME was tired and looked somewhat broken. The circles under her eyes gave her a gloomy look, something that her slumped shoulders accentuated.

Maura felt something inside of her nearly break. It took her all of her willpower to not just collapse on the floor and curl right there to never move again. She was not used to having so many emotions, not when she was so tired and had been worried sick at night about what Paddy would do to Jane and how she could protect her friend. But she still had a little of strength left to stand taller and compose her expression. She felt Jane's gaze on her, analyzing her like she always did, no doubt. Damn those psychology classes the ME had taken as a med student.

"How is he?" Jane broke the silence.

"Not good."

Jane waited for more precisions but they never came. She wasn't sure how much Maura still hated her and she didn't want to push. She was here for her best friend anyway, not Doyl. She only care about his current health because it put Maura in such distress.

"I don't understand a word they say. It's all medical blabbering," the blonde finally said with a frustrated tone.

The Italian looked at the window of the room and saw a nurse and two doctors – probably interns – busy giving shots, pressing buttons and mildly panicking.

"They're giving him something to release the tension in his abdomen and help the heart pump more easily," she explained, not taking her eyes off of the medics working. "They should intubate him. He clearly has problems breathing, look at how his chest barely rises. There you go," she added as one of the interns took a tube and started inserting it in Doyle's trachea.

"He's not doing it right," she commented under her breathe. "This tube is too large, I can see it from that far. Look at how he holds it. Not like that, you dumb ass. Don't they teach you anything in med school?"

The brunette kept on looking for a few seconds, her eyes never leaving the sight of the young student trying to properly intubate.

"Ok, that's enough. I'm going in," Jane suddenly said.

Just like that, she was gone. Maura watched the ME put her phone and keys in her back pockets and walk decidedly to the doors. She swung them open and the blonde heard a panicked "Ma'am, you can't be in here" and Jane answer "What do you think you're doing with that tube? Do you want to choke the man? Here-," before the doors closed.

The Detective looked at the scene while she was left there dumbfounded. It reminded her of how Frankie had done the exact same thing earlier, only it was actually Frankie's job to storm into rooms of the hospital to help and not Jane's, as extensive as her medical knowledge might be.

She observed the ME explain to the intern from the feet of the bed how to do his job. Had the Italian had scrubs and gloves, she would have inserted the tube herself for sure. The young man seemed to calm down a little and followed whatever orders Jane was giving him. Maura saw him look at the ME from time to time to listen to her more attentively. He finally managed to put the tube – of the correct diameter – in Doyle's trachea and looked positively relieved. Jane asked him something and he pointed out at the trail next to the nurse. The short woman in pink scrubs searched for something and finally handed to the brunette a pair of gloves. Jane turned to the other intern who had been hiding in a corner the whole time Jane was in the room. He looked at her with an expression of pure fear and hurried out of his white coat to give it to her. The Queen of the Dead was extending her reign of terror outside of her morgue apparently.

The moment she was properly dressed to approach the bed, Jane went to feel Doyle's pulse, checked his pupils with a tiny light the scared intern gave her and took the charts from the other intern's hands. She shuffled through the pages and probably asked questions or made comments that asked for precisions as sometimes the bad intubater intern said something, looking at her intently.

Finally the brunette looked up from the clipboard and offered it back to the intern. She said something which Maura had no idea what it could be and the intern nodded. Jane then gave back the lab coat to the other young man and exited the room. She immediately went to Maura.

"They are going to give him some more morphine as well as something to help the blood flow. They used a bad combination of medicine to try to stop the second heart attack, those ignorant asses. The drugs taken independently are actually effective ones, but taken together they tend make the arteries clutter and heighten the risks of inflammation. It should be better and less painful for him now. We still have to wait to be sure whether or not he's out of the woods."

Maura didn't say anything but nodded. No matter how confused she felt about hating Jane or not, her presence here had a calming effect on her. She was also grateful about the ME's efforts to explain to her in plain terms what was happening.

"You need anything? A warm cup of something? Something to eat?"

The blonde shook her head, still not talking.

"Look, I know you probably don't want me here but I don't want you to be alone. I'll just stay somewhere out of your hair. Just… I don't want you to be alone."

Maura scanned her friend's face and found no reason to tell her to leave. Who was she trying to fool, there was no universe in which she wouldn't take comfort in the ME being here, especially when she had spent the last hour in a complete state of loneliness.

"Let's sit," the Detective said.

Maura sat, yet again, on the plastic bench that started to feel like the only sure thing in this vast hospital. Jane followed her and, unsure of how far the blonde wanted her from her personal space, positioned herself at the other side of the bench.

The Detective turned her head to see the brunette sitting straight with her hands clasped in her lap around her cellphone and car keys.

"I won't bite," Maura stated calmly.

Jane looked at her with an unsure expression. Maura heaved.

"Just come here," she said, patting the place next to her. "You look like a child who made a mess, sitting all the way there."

Jane thought that it was kind of how she felt, only a lot worse because she had done a lot worse than just make a mess. Maura only silently patted again the space by her side.

The ME lifted herself from the bench and went to sit at the place designated by her friend at her right. Jane took a great gulp of courage and presented her left palm to the blonde. The Detective looked at it and immediately slid her right hand into the welcoming palm, as she had done so many times. It was a reflexive gesture more than anything, but feeling connected to the brunette did help.

Jane intertwined their fingers and gave a brief squeeze that said "I'm here". Maura squeezed back settled against the wall behind her. She suddenly felt overwhelmed by tiredness. This day had been a long one, and it was not nearly over.

She put her head on Jane's shoulder and let out a long exhale. The brunette wrapped Maura's and her hand with her other one and started drawing the pattern of the Detective's delicate bones protected by layers of muscles and skin. She silently named each carpal and metacarpal bones while ghosting over them with the tip of her fingers.

It shocked Maura to realize how full and enveloping Jane's presence was. She had always been used to dealing with things on her own. Her adoptive parents were rarely around, she had never had many friends, lest say close ones. Whatever difficult time she had gone through, she had faced them alone and, in the end, it was the only way she knew how to took care of things. The blonde had long forgotten her craving for intimacy, along with her desire to have a family and loved ones around her.

Then she had met Jane. For a first experience of having a best friend, Maura had found quite a unique one.

There was nothing she didn't love about Jane. The Italian was far from incarnating the perfect human being but everything, from her golden qualities to her annoying flaws, were blended into a lovable personality that Maura had grown very fond of. Jane was the sarcastic, impatient, generous and loving person that had opened the Detective's heart and opened hers in return. The blonde knew herself lucky not only to have a person as special as Jane in her life, but also that this kind of person would take any interest in her weird quirky self.

Maura looked down at her right hand encased in a protective cocoon formed by Jane's scarred ones. The warmth emanating from her friend's body by her side reminded her of those Salonpas patches that people put on their sour muscles to relieve the tension and pain. Right now, Jane was her warm patch and she was grateful for it.

"I thought you were dead for a minute," Maura stated quietly.

The ME almost jumped when her friend talked after being silent for so long.

"What?" she asked when she finally registered what Maura had said.

"When I was with Doyle and Branco in the apartment, Doyle said he had killed you. I think he just wanted to have Branco off his back and gain time, but when he said it I believed him. Susie had told me she couldn't reach you, I wasn't sure if you had even stayed the night… I thought you were really dead for a moment. I thought Doyle had killed you."

"He didn't," Jane tried to reassure her with a gentle voice.

"I said I would kill him with my bare hands if he did."

The ME wanted to make a humorous remark to ease up the palpable tension but decided against it. She could sense Maura was trying to tell her something. The blonde was still trying to make orders in her ideas but she wanted to say something, Jane heardit between the lines.

As if she wanted to shake herself, Maura sat up straight and retrieved her hand from Jane's soft grip.

"It's been back and forth. I've been feeling protective over you and tolerant towards Doyle. I was angry at him because he put you in a position of danger but I didn't want to just throw him back into the hands of the Police. Then you had your car accident. I think I've never been so scared. But you were okay, mostly. So I was angry again, I was furious. But then you showed up and shot him and, despite all the hate I had felt for him minutes before, I was scared for him too, because he's the only family I have left. He's the only person who shares my blood that I know of. I was angry at him but I was scared for him too. I was not ready to have him in my life but I wasn't ready to have him out of it forever either. So now my biological father is fighting to live because you shot him, you almost died twice, and I am at loss with everything I'm feeling."

"It's okay to be lost, Maur," Jane said with the soft voice the Detective had fallen for a long time ago, almost against her own will. "A lot happened and still is happening. You are allowed to have a lot of feelings."

"I don't like having this many feelings," the blonde choked out.

"Whatever my stupid mouth may have said before, you're not a cyborg and you have feelings. You can't help it, it's a human curse. It sucks, but welcome to the human hell of having a beating heart."

Maura emitted a strangled laughter.

"I feel silly," she said.

"Why, because you're in a shitty situation with tons of things happening to you? Don't feel silly. You're quite impressive at dealing with things."

The Detective turned her eyes to the brunette's brown ones with a "really?" look that painfully reminded Jane of her own.

"You think?" she asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Yeah, I mean, a little tears now and then but otherwise you're doing fine. Keep up the good job."

"I don't know if I should feel offended or not by your remarks."

"It's always compliments from me, even when it doesn't sound like it."

"Thanks then."

Maura played for some time with the tissue she had kept in her hand and that started to look nothing like a tissue.

"It pains me to admit that you're right but Doyle would have probably shot Susie, by reflex at least."

"Wild hypothesis?"

"More likely bad experience of betrayal hypothesis. I have thought a lot about it and it makes sense. Doyle told me he would have killed you, he certainly would have fired at Susie."

"I guess we'll never know." Jane stayed quiet for some time, thinking, then added. "I'm really sorry about using your gun on your dad."

"As much as I wanted a father in my life, he's not my dad. I told you he's not my family. We share blood and it does something to me, but that's all."

The brunette thought about when Maura had told her that she was her family, her and not her absent mob boss of a father.

"I think he's a little your family too," she said as if she was thinking out loud. "You wouldn't have reacted the way you did if he didn't matter at least a little to you."

"You matter more."

"It's not a competition. I know your heart is big enough for the both of us."

Maura smiled. She laid again her head on Jane's shoulder and enjoyed her friend being here. Darkness took her without her even realizing it and before the blonde knew it, she was fast asleep snuggled against Jane. The ME released a strangled sigh to not wake up her best friend and gladly served as a pillow. God knew Maura needed some sleep and good company.

* * *

**A/N: Once again, this is a chapter for which I formally apologize in regards to medical stuff. As you may have understood I am NOT a doctor.**

**Can you feel the Rizzles coming? It's in the air, hanging, they are gravitating towards and around each other. I can assure you this slow burn is as hard on me as it is on you (okay, maybe a little less hard for me since I know what happens next).**  
**Anywho, I hope you enjoyed, feel free to comment, review, constructively criticize or leave me hanging, tossing and turning at night wondering if you did like this chapter or not. I'm kidding though, no pressure whatsoever, I ony hope I can bring you a little pleasure in a world Rizzles-less.**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: First af all, thank you amazing people for your reviews, words of encouragement, pieces od advise and all the love and eagerness you have shown me. Answers to last chapter were overwhelmingly nice and motivating. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart!**  
**This chapter is Rizzles fluff, I think you deserve it =)  
Happy reading!  
**

* * *

Maura woke up at the sound of her name. She opened her eyes and furiously blinked to shake the tiredness off of them. Her head left the warm and firm pillow it had been lying on. She saw the silhouette of a young man she thought she recognized in front of her but the outlines were blurred. Her name was said again, this time by a voice that made her feel safe the way you feel when you're home even before she could remember to whom it belonged. A warm hand squeezed her right knee lightly and she immediately reached for it.

"Maura, sweetie, wake up," Jane tried once more.

The Detective's eyes seemed to adjust and she successfully focused on Frankie who was standing in front of her, bent forward with his hands on his knees.

"Hey there, thought we'd have to shock you to wake you up."

"Over my dead body you will," Jane snarled.

Frankie looked at his sister with a jaded expression.

"I think sleeping would help you be nicer."

"Oh my God, who cares, Frankie?" Jane said, exasperated.

"_I_ do!" he exclaimed, standing up straight. "And Maura will too at some point if you keep being such a grumpy sassy b-"

"How-" Maura began saying, cutting them short, but when she tried to sit up she shot a hand at the side of her head. "Ow," she mumbled.

"You okay, Maur?" the ME asked, concern written all over her face.

"I seem to have a rather strong headache." She exhaled deeply to get used to the pain. "How long have I slept?"

"About an hour," Jane answered. "But I thought you'd be better in a bed rather than on one of those plastic things they dare call chairs, so we woke you up."

"It's a bench, Jane," Frankie retorted with exasperation.

"Which is in no way better. You need to sleep properly, Maura," the brunette said to her friend.

"Jane is right," her brother confirmed. "I'll come by check on how Doyle is doing and I'll tell you, you don't have to stay."

"I know you want to, but there's nothing we can do," Jane insisted. "Plus, Frankie says I'm not allowed near Doyle's bed anymore."

"You are not allowed to perform any kind of medical act in here! It's against the law, you're not a surgeon. It's illegal, for God's sakes!"

"Frankly, I don't care."

"Coming from a woman who works with Police, it's a bit much!"

"You two are exhausting," Maura moaned, pressing her fingers on her temples.

Jane and Frankie looked at Maura, then at each other, and laughed.

"Someone is fully awake," the brunette teased.

"Apparently my pounding migraine too."

"Seriously, you should get some rest, Maura," Frankie said.

She shook her blonde curls that sprawled around her like a wild jungle, a rare occurrence given Maura's usual perfect appearance. No one could blame her at the moment though.

"I want to wait to be sure that Doyle is out of danger."

"It's not going to be for another 19 hours or so," Jane pointed out.

"Then I'll wait."

"Ok, we wait," the ME nodded. "Frankie, do you have some aspirin for Maura?"

"Sure, I'll go get some."

"Thanks. Can you grab me a coffee too? "

"In your dreams," he scoffed. "Maura, you want anything?"

The brunette mimicked with exaggeration an offended face and Maura chuckled.

"A coffee would be great. Thanks, Frankie."

The younger Rizzoli nodded and went to go find what was asked, briefly smirking at his sister who rolled her eyes.

"Guess we know who he likes better now," Jane joked.

"Your brother admires you."

"Way to show it. How ungrateful of him! After I prevented his jokes of interns to _kill_ your father, see how he repays me with insolence. And the minute he sees your cute waking face, he's at your knees."

"So I have a cute face now?" Maura picked up, raising her eyebrows.

"Well… yeah," the ME answered, visibly flustered. "It's just that when you wake up you have this cute 'the princess has awoken' face that is kind of adorable and somehow grows on you."

"I do not have a princess face when I wake up!"

"Not a princess face... it's more... you kinda look like a Disney movie character come into life."

"You mean The Lion King kind of Disney movie? I'm confused." Maura shook her head, her eyebrows now drawn together in a serious frown.

"Okay, I'm not making it any better. Just forget it, "Jane dismissed, waving her hands. "By the way we have to improve your knowledge in Disney movies."

After a moment of silence, Jane playfully nudged at the Detective.

"Are you mad because you thought I compared you to a lion?"

"I don't know if I should be offended or not. On the other hand, you did call me cute."

"I called your face cute."

"Good. I'm not cute. I'm a badass Detective."

"That you are."

Maura glanced at Jane to see if she was joking but saw her best friend with a straight face. It made her heart swell with pride.

"Do the cuts from your car accident still hurt?"

Jane mechanically touched the one in the middle of her forehead.

"Nah. They're healing nicely apparently. I think I should be able to take the stitches out in two days or so, I may even not have that bad of a scar."

"Surely you're not going to take them out yourself."

"Of course I am. I don't need someone to do it. It's basically just cutting the thread and pulling it out."

Maura made a scrunchy face. Jane laughed out loud.

"Come on, Maura, you see dead people all the time and I personally stitched you up on a few occasions. You should be immune to small bloodless cuts by now."

"I am, it doesn't mean I don't find them a little gory."

"What happened to my car is gory. Not this," Jane remarked, pointing at her forehead.

Maura looked at her thoughtfully.

"I could lend you my old Prius," she said.

"What old Prius? Why would you have on old Prius when you have an official vehicle?"

"I had it before I was assigned a car. I didn't sell it because I thought I was going to use it, or maybe if someone were visiting…"

Jane understood who Maura could have been expecting as visitors when the blonde's face slightly saddened. Were Maura's adoptive parents ever to come to Boston to see their daughter, they would be treated like royalty by her - which was probaly a lot more than they deserved in Jane's opinion.

"Anyway," Maura continued. "I kept it and it would be a shame for you not to use it while you don't have a car."

"I don't know, Maur. It's really nice of you but you always complain about my driving. Would you trust me with your car?"

"Of course, I let you drive mine countless times. Take the car, Jane, I'm lending it to you until yours is fixed or replaced by your insurance."

"Thank you."

The Italian gave Maura her best smile, the one she knew would make her friend smile back.

"So, what do you say we go walk a little, maybe grab something to eat? I'm starving."

The blonde's eyes glanced at the room where her father hadn't moved an inch in hours.

"It's going to be fine. We're just taking a 15mn break," the ME assured her.

Maura looked back at her.

"Okay. I am rather hungry myself and a coffee would be profitable."

"Let's profit then," Jane said, rising from the bench.

She stretched her long limbs and let out a satisfied growl. Maura stared a little too long and was startled awake from her daydream by Jane's outstretched hand. She willingly took it and got up on her feet. She too could feel that her articulations were tensed and rusty from the extended sitting position. She smiled at the brunette and followed her to the hospital cafeteria. On their way, Jane called her brother to let him know where they were headed. Frankie said he would meet them there and have a quick break himself.

* * *

Half an hour later, Jane and Maura were back, sandwiches and coffees in their stomach and in a notably better mood.

Maura received a call from Susie and Jane took the opportunity to inform Frost of what was going on. The IT tech now knew everything since Cavanaugh had filled him, Korsak and Chang in. It was good to not have to lie or conceal the truth from him anymore. She also asked the young man to give to the Lieutenant the USB key that was ready. Everything they had on Boston's mob was now on a tiny electronic ship. How strange.

Jane also felt compelled to call her mother in an act of pure altruism. She explained to her that Maura and herself were at the hospital right now, and for some time to come, waiting on someone's health to hopefully improve. Angela was surprisingly comprehensive with the whole secrecy aspect, but she insisted on talking to Maura. The blonde, who was just finished with her phone call with Chang, took Jane's cellphone and tried her best to assure the Rizzoli mother that she was alright. When Angela was satisfied that none of them were in dire need of her, she wished them luck and hang up.

Then started the long wait.

Frankie came to check on them every hour or so if he could. Around 9pm, Angela made a surprise appearance with two boxes full of lasagna and a warm thermos of soup. She offered to stay with them but the two women preferred her to go take care of Bass and Jo, which she did. Frost and Susie called again later to check on them, respectively around 10:30pm and 10:45pm. They wanted to make sure the two women didn't need anything. It wasn't the case but they were both thankful for the attention.

Maura felt strange and strangely at ease with all these people caring about what was happening to her and to that more or less mysterious person she was waiting on. There was a huge gap between how alone she had spent the afternoon and how much love she was now receiving, a great part of it coming from Jane and her family.

At 2am, nor Jane neither Maura were sleeping. There was a lot less noise than during the day, which for once was not that great of a thing for Maura. The cold hallways of the hospital were eerie and artificial, the light too yellow and the scent too metallic. Once again, the blonde felt happy her friend was with her.

Sometimes they talked, sometimes they stayed silent, and always there was a point of contact between the two of them – thighs brushing, a hand touching an arm, an arm slung around a shoulder. The silence was comfortable even though they were both worrying.

"I think he's going to be okay," Jane broke the silence, a few minutes after Frankie had come to check on Doyle's vitals as well as on Jane and Maura. "And it's not only my guts talking. I really think his charts look good, or at least from what Frankie told us. His constants are fine. I think he's going to make it."

Maura sighed.

"And then we're going to send him directly to prison," she said with a tired voice.

"I'm sorry about that."

"Don't be, that's where he belongs."

Jane shot a surprised look at her best friend. Maura shrugged.

"Doyle brings destruction wherever he goes. I don't wish him dead because he still is my biological father, and one of the reasons why I'm here at all, but having Paddy running around free is not a good thing."

The ME continued to stare at her.

"Do you think I'm cold-hearted?" Maura asked in a whisper.

"No," Jane answered instantly. She shook her head as if she was trying to shake the ideas inside. "No, I'm actually impressed."

"Why, because I finally think about doing what's right?"

"No, because you know exactly how you feel and I think this is something you weren't able to do for a long time."

The Detective looked down.

"It's not easy to sort out emotions."

"Indeed, it's not," the brunette acquiesced knowingly. "But when you know, you know."

Maura looked up again. She saw in the brunette's eyes something laying, something she had seen before, she just couldn't remember when.

"I care about you, Maura."

"I know-"

Jane raised a hand to stop her.

"This is going to be a little long but I'd like to say everything that's on my mind if that's okay with you."

Maura nodded silently, a little afraid of what Jane was going to tell her, to be true. The Italian saw she had her full attention.

"I care about you. You are my best friend and the only person other than my family of blood that really counts in my life. I know how it feels to fear for your life because I do, all the time." She racked her hand in her hair, seemingly to give herself some time to phrase whatever she had to say correctly. "You being a cop brings all kind of dangers in your daily life and I have to admit that sometimes the fear to lose you is so strong I feel paralyzed. If I have made you feel half as scared for me as I am for you when you go on an operation, I'm sorry. I-"

The next words got stuck in her strangled throat. The ME forced a shaky breathe out and continued.

"I care about you so much, and I'm sorry about everything I've put you through." She sniffled. "Can I have a hug, please?"

Maura emitted a sound that was half a chuckle half a cry and obliged. They stayed a long moment as close as possible, breathing each other in and out, then separated with equally smiling faces and teary eyes.

"God, Jane, so it takes a life threat for you to get emotional and cheesy?"

The ME playfully punched her friend in the arm and laughed.

"How dare you deny my declaration of friendship."

"I would never," she promised.

Jane smiled but then grew serious for a second. "I think it's important to tell people when they matter to you, si I am telling you."

Maura looked at Jane and held the eye contact for a few seconds to make sure her friend understood what she was going to say was serious.

"You know what I told you yesterday still avails. I would choose you a hundred times over anyone."

"What if you had to choose between me and an endless supply of designer shoes?"

"Must you joke about everything?" Maura asked with exasperation.

"No. But I'm emotional and I kinda want to cry. The Queen of the Dead doesn't cry."

"A good friend of mine told me recently that it was possible to cry here and there and still manage to cope well while facing an emotional situation."

"Does that friend of yours have a diploma in psychology?"

"She does not, but she has an M.D."

"Yes, I do," Jane beamed with joy. "Better listen to me then."

She stretched her back and cracked her knuckles.

"Don't do that, Jane," Maura chastised.

"I know, it's going to dislodge the articulations, resulting in time in a permanent deformation."

"I meant that the noise is 'ew', but that too."

"Really? The noise is 'ew'? And I thought you were literate."

"Don't expect me to have an extended vocabulary to describe the sounds of your your knuckles cracking at (she checked her watched) 2:47am."

"Fair enough." She produced a long yawn. "I think I'm going to try to sleep a little. Wake me up if anything happens?"

"I will."

"Also if you need anything, wake me up. You should sleep, though. And eat a little more, you barely touched anything."

Maura laughed quietly.

"Oh my God, I'm turning into my mother, aren't I?"

"It's not a bad thing."

Jane scoffed.

"We'll see what you say when you have two Angela Rizzoli hovering over you."

"As long as I still have one Jane Rizzoli," she declared with a sincere smile.

"Who's cheesy now?" the ME mocked.

"Shut up," Maura answered, smacking the brunette's arm.

Jane laughed and laid down on the bench, her legs partially on the surface and ungracefully hanging at the end, her head near Maura's lap. She was fast asleep despite the uncomfortable position.

* * *

Jane woke up unsure of why it was smelling so bad or why her back and legs were so painful. She opened her eyes to see a white ceiling with numerous blinding lights on it. The small talk of nurses a little further from her reminded her that she was in Mass General. She craned her head behind her, bending her neck to its limit, only to see that her friend was not sitting next to her anymore.

She carefully sat up and rolled her head around to help the muscles back into activity after sometime in an uncomfortable position. The ME looked around her to conclude that the blonde wasn't in the near surroundings while gently stretching the rest of her body. Being tall had its advantages, flexibility was not one of them. When the brunette felt her body was as good and relaxed as it could be given the current rather worrisome situation – and the nap on this bench as cold and rigid as death itself – she sat up and walked a little around to help the blood circulation back in her legs.

She wondered where Maura was. A quick check at her watch taught her that it was 5:06am. _Whoa, I slept a full hour_, the Italian thought. _Maura must have been bored out of her mind_.

The Detective's handbag was not under the bench where it had been sitting for the longest time. Maybe the blonde had gone to the restrooms, or outside to get some fresh air. Jane had no reason to be worried, right? The tall woman started to unconsciously pace as her mind was going full speed, as always.

She thought about what she had said to Maura earlier. _I care about you_. It was true, of course, but God, there was so much more than that. Jane wondered if she should have told Maura right then about how she felt.

Doyle's life threat towards the ME had had the one and only positive impact of making Jane realize that time was not granted and life was fleeting. The brunette had promised herself that she would confess her feelings to her best friend, even if it meant a lifetime of winning her friendship back after that. Maura had to know, and Jane had to take whatever chances she had. But she didn't want to throw everything at the Detective's face either. As Maura had said before, she had almost lost her twice, her father was in a critical situation – and she had been suspended for a week, which was very close to torture to Maura because she loved her job more than anything.

So Jane had decided to wait a little, at least until Doyle's condition would be a 100% stable. She felt bad for keeping it to herself but on the other hand she was relieved because declaring her undying love to her best friend was yet the most terrifying prospect she had ever had.

As her thoughts were filled with Maura, Jane looked up from her pacing feet to see the blonde walking towards her. Her nose and cheeks were pink. She had her scarf on, her handbag hanging at her shoulder and her hands were carefully swinging two presumably hot cups judging by the packaging.

"You're awake," the Detective cheered and Jane felt bad for sleeping so long. "You fell asleep so quickly, I was actually suprised. You even snored a little. You must have been exhausted."

"I was. Didn't you sleep at all?"

"A bit, but not too much really."

Maura would keep to herself until the grave that she had watched Jane sleep and felt better about everything in the world just because of it; and maybe she had played a little with her unruly hair but it had felt comforting and Jane seemed to have liked.

"Here," the blonde said instead, handing to her friend one of the cups. "Two creams, one sugar and a shot of vanilla."

"Is it Christmas?"

"Christmas was months ago, Jane," Maura commented matter-of-factly with a frown.

"I mean, is it Christmas because you gave me a coffee that is the epitome of everything that isn't good, which I know for a fact you are aware of, being the bio-green-hippie activist you are. It also happens to be my favorite kind of coffee, but still."

"'Epitome', nice word. From what fabulous individual did you learn it?"

"From a friend who doesn't know humility, apparently," she humored.

"Who needs humility when you know words like 'epitome'?"

"Um, I don't know… you? You need humility?"

Maura gave her a mischievous grin.

"Where did you find a treasure like this around here anyway?" Jane asked, taking a sip. She groaned at how good it was.

"Glad you like it. I went outside to get some cold air. It was almost 5am so I decided to buy a coffee at one of those vendors near the hospital."

"Best. Idea. Ever. God, I needed that coffee," she moaned again. "Don't you want to try to sleep though? Hallucinations begin at 48 hours of sleep deprivation. Only a few hours to go for you and you'll start picturing me with a monocle and a top hat."

"I don't think I can sleep properly until we know for sure if Doyle is going to make it or not. I just want to know."

"What about a nap then? A little nap? Just a tiny one? I'll be on watch the whole time."

"You're turning into your mother again, Jane."

"I'm not. I'm being the friend I should have been from the beginning. And by that I mean an obnoxious person who is always around and randomly helps you realizing your most secret wishes like when you didn't know you wanted a peanut butter and fluff sandwich and I gave you one. Or like in two minutes, when I finish this coffee."

"What do you mean? What happens in two minutes?"

"Drink up, you'll see."

Maura continued to sip her hot beverage while suspiciously glaring at Jane. She trusted her but she knew they had divergent notions on a lot of things, including what the Detective needed or not.

When the brunette finished her drink, she took Maura's also empty one and put both of them in the trash can.

"Okay, sit," the ME ordered.

"What are you going to do?"

"Patience is a virtue, my friend."

"Says the most impatient person I know," Maura huffed while still executing herself and sitting on the bench.

Jane came to sit right next to her.

"I've seen you frown every 30 seconds or so because of your headaches. I think the main source of that is your neck. You slept in a bad position earlier and you're super tense. I going to help you relax."

"I thought you didn't like yoga," Maura tried to joke.

"This is much better than yoga."

At those words, Jane placed her left hand at the base of the blonde's neck. Maura reflexively stiffened but immediately relaxed when the ME's scarred hand started working.

Jane slowly massaged the muscles that were hard as rock. She traced the lines of her vertebral column, progressively adding more pressure as she massaged over and over again along the same pattern. The brunette pressed on specific points, a few of which made Maura grind her teeth in pain. It was all worth it though. When Jane released the almost unbearable pressure to lightly kneaded the tender neck , Maura was feeling incredibly better. She sighed and bent her head so that her chin was touching her sternum and let her friend's fingers work their magic. Her strokes became less and less hard until Jane was simply stroking the sensitive skin on the back of the blonde's neck.

"Better?" Jane asked with a raspy voice.

"Hmmm," the blonde only muttered.

"Do you want to sleep now?"

"I feel a little sleepy, yes."

Jane smiled knowingly and cradled Maura's left shoulder to guide her down. Maura didn't fight and simply laid her head on her friend's lap. It was way more comfortable than her shoulder, although she missed how she could smell Jane's scent in the crook of the brunette's neck.

The caffeine she had just ingested was of no use to prevent her from falling into a deep sleep, eased into nice thoughts by the brunette''s warm hand that tucked her hair behind her ear and lightly scratched the skin at the base of her hairline – a secret spot Jane had somehow knowledge of.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: And another chapter! Did you get a diabete crisis from last chapter, because holy sweetness.  
Things are moving, feelings are evolving, meanwhile the Rizzles ship ships itself and I am a humble bard who praises it in the most humble way.  
Thank you for reading, for encouraging me and giving me the motivation to write =) I hope I do you good.  
Happy reading!**

* * *

At 7am, Maura was long awake and the wait started to feel very long for both women. Small naps helped pass the time but only small bits of it. The main part of their 19 hours surveillance consisted of them sitting in silence together. They talked from time to time but, honestly, Jane was running out of subject of discussion and Maura seemed too wrapped up in her own thoughts to think of any new one. So they simply shared each other's company.

Frankie had last come by around midnight, right before leaving the hospital. He too was tired after his nights shifts and he, for one, was definitely sleeping in his own bed. The younger Rizzoli would most likely come to the hospital sometime in the morning - that is to say anytime between now and midday.

A little before 8am, Angela came by to bring her two favorite girls breakfast. She had made green tea to try to calm their nerves and help them relax. The notion nearly made Jane snort because green tea did certainly not have the life ingredients for any of those things. In fact, tea contained caffeine molecules, so it was actually likely to make them even more nervous. But Jane knew her mother meant only the best and it mattered more than any accurate science. The Rizzoli mother insisted that Jane and Maura came to the traditional Saturday family & friends dinner, to which they politely promised to try.

Maura assured Angela that she could still use her kitchen to cook and host the dinner. The blonde internally convinced herself that if she didn't feel like seeing people – even if they were her friends – she could always spend the night at Jane's.

The Rizzoli matriarch stayed a full hour and was about to leave – as a result of Jane and Maura's constant reassurance that they could handle the few hours left alone – when she spotted her son in the hospital corridors. She called out and ran at him, and Jane laughed when she saw his embarrassed and yet unsurprised face.

The brunette turned to Maura, still smiling, and saw her friend biting her manicured nails, already deep in her thoughts again. The Italian took the tortured hand away from the blonde's teeth. Maura clacked her tongue in annoyance but then remembered that it was Jane sitting next to her, so she quietly listened to the ME explain how biting her nails was bad for her because of the products in her nail polish, and bad for her nails because it weakened them. Of course Maura knew that, but having the brunette soothing's voice tell her something meant for her well-being was a good alternative to silently worrying.

Both Jane and Maura had felt the change during the night. It hadn't happened at a precise moment, but they were aware that something had shifted, like tide wave. Like an earthquake, but one deep under their skin, somewhere in their heart and bones. The recent events had aggregated a lot of feelings scattered around their hearts. Slowly but surely the pieces of the puzzle were assembling.

Jane had already put to and two together. She knew what it was that was hanging over their heads. It was scary but it was also very exciting. A little like danger, or like a gift waiting to be opened.

Maura, on her side, was not putting any kind of label on Jane and she's relationship. They were best friends, that had been established some time ago, but the recent fluctuations in the dynamic of their friendship had not yet risen deeper questions in her. To be honest, she was pushing them away. The Detective wanted to focus on the fact that Jane was alive and in good health. Furthermore, Maura was not sure that any type of mathematics would help her figure out what it was exactly that felt changed. It was all very scary.

So the two friends sat together, sometimes conversed and otherwise shared silence without even trying to talk about it. It was an implicit truth. A fact.

The blonde caught Jane's attention shift in the middle of her explanation and she followed her gaze. Angela was leaving and Frankie was making his way towards them.

"How are you?" he asked when he reached the plastic bench where they were still sitting.

"In dire need of a shower," Maura answered flatly.

"Yeah, you smell, Maur," Jane said.

The blonde made an angry face at her and Jane laughed.

"Like flowers, you smell like flowers."

Maura still smacked her arm with a healthy punch that granted her a hearty "ow" from Jane.

"O-kay," Frankie said, looking at the two of them goofing around. "Did any of you sleep at all?"

"We had small naps," Jane said, still smiling. "Nothing like a real night of sleep in a real bed, but it did the trick."

"Well, you're probably going to need two straight days of sleep to erase those dark circles under your eyes."

"Fuck you, Frankie," the ME said jokingly.

He smiled, secretely happy that his sister was still witty as ever. It was generally a good sign.

"Do you need anything?" the young Rizzoli inquired.

"I'm fine. You, Maur?"

The blonde shook her head.

"Ok then. I'm going to go check on Doyle. Nothing special happened?"

"Nothing. The nurses came every two hours or so but they didn't seem panicked or anything, so I'd say nothing too tragic."

"Ok. I'll tell you in a minute if there's something out of the ordinary."

Both women nodded and watched him enter Paddy's room. Frankie checked the monitors, adjusted Doyle's perfusion and read his charts. There was no visible gasp or gesture that betrayed excessive worry. He left the room a few minutes later.

"He's fine," he informed them. "We'll wait until 12pm. If his condition remains the way it is now we can be a 100% he's going to be fine and that he'll wake up sooner rather than later."

Maura looked reassured but not completely relieved.

"Only a few more hours to go," Frankie said to cheer them up.

"The longest is behind us," the Detective said with a smile that Jane mimicked.

"Yeah," the Italian confirmed. "4 hours are nothing to us."

Her brother grinned with the famous Rizzoli smirk.

"I'll come back at 12pm."

"See you then, Frankie."

Maura nodded and waved to him.

4 more hours.

* * *

It happened that those last 4 hours were the longest of the 19 hours Jane and Maura waited together. They were both very tired, their butts started to feel flat from sitting on the bench and the smell of the hospital was so impregnated in their clothes and hair that Jane felt like she had showered with the damn alcohol and floor product. They were not hungry, neither of them really felt like talking, they couldn't have any more coffee or they would explode.

They were bored. Thank God they were together because had they been alone for 19 hours in Mass Gen, they would have turned crazy. Jane felt either like pacing or sleeping but she wanted to do neither. Maura was wrenching her hands in order not to bite her nails until there would only be flesh and blood. Sometimes their eyes met and they offered each other an encouraging smile.

Finally, the needles of Maura's watch aligned on the number '12'. She looked expectantly at Jane who checked in turn her own watch. The brunette stood up and walked up to Doyle's room. He looked the same he had looked like 19 hours ago. Which was actually a good sign.

Five minutes after 12pm, Jane was glancing at the time every ten seconds and checking if Frankie was anywhere to be seen in the corridors of the rooms 306 to 315. Finally, she took her cellphone out and dialed his number. Both Maura and Jane heard Frankie's ringtone from the distance.

He saw their hopeful expression and went straight to check on Doyle. 8 minutes and 12 seconds later exactly, he was out. Maura had joined Jane while he was inside and both the ME and the Detective had been scanning ever small gesture he made and every crease on his forehead. They waited for him to give his final diagnostic.

"He's going to make it," he informed them and Maura felt a weight being lifted off her shoulders.

She leaned on Jane to keep her balance. The brunette instinctively slid an arm around her waist in support.

"He should be awake soon now. We'll keep him a few more days and then he should be able to leave."

Maura deeply exhaled and Jane briefly squeezed her hip.

"Thank you, Frankie."

"You can thank Jane too," the young doctor said. "She was the one who found that the medication we were giving home wasn't doing him any good."

Jane gave him a genuine smile. She turned to Maura to see her friend was staring at her intently.

"What? Do I have something on my face?"

The blonde only shook her head in response and broke the eye contact.

"I think I'm ready to go home," she announced.

"Yeah?" Jane asked.

The Detective nodded.

"Are we going to see you at Sunday dinner tonight?" Frankie asked. "You can go at my apartment if you don't feel like coming. Ma told me dinner is still at your house. We won't take it personally if you decide that you want to rest."

"I'll see," Maura said. "And thank you for the offer."

Frankie grinned and left them after saying goodbye.

"Do you want to go see him before we go?" Jane inquired.

Maura seemed to be thinking about it for a moment but decided against it and shook her head no.

"I'll come back when he's awake. I think it's better I have some rest now. And you too. We need two whole days of rest, remember?"

"Although no science could prove this theory, I'm totally okay with it," the ME said, massaging her temples. "Let's go. Should I call a taxi?"

"My car is in the parking of the hospital. An officer drove it here."

"Ok. I'm driving."

Maura didn't argue and handed her the keys. Jane had been taking care of her since the day before and she was very okay with it.

It took them some time to find the blonde's car but just before Jane started to let irritation get the best of her, they recognized the blue vehicle parked in a far corner of a parking alley. They made their way inside and buckled up.

"Should I drive you to your house? I should warn you, my mother is probably already cooking for tonight. Actually she's probably just going to wander in your kitchen until you're back and then pretend that she had just started preparing dinner to be sure to run into you."

Maura resisted the urge to sigh. She loved Angela Rizzoli like family but sometimes the Italian mother was a little intrusive – in a very loving way, but still.

"You are allowed to not want to see her right this minute," Jane informed her. "I know my mother. She's a handful and it doesn't make us love her any less but sometimes, just sometimes, we need to be very far away from her. Say, a neighborhood away from her." The brunette waited for the blonde's answer and precised. "You can hide at my place and we'll show up at Sunday dinner if we have enough courage."

Maura looked at her and Jane nearly laughed at the relief she saw in her friend's eyes.

"My place it is," she chuckled.

* * *

They drove not too fast to Jane's apartment. The brunette wanted to step on the accelerator pedal but she knew it would have been a ridiculous thing given her current state of tiredness. So she took her time, made sure she was within the speed limits and checked her surrounding at every green light and crossroad. Finally, _finally_, she parked at her apartment and turned the engine off. They made their way to Jane's floor with weary feet.

Jo Friday greeted them with her usual over excessive joy. Her mistress picked her up and the little dog yelped at Maura to get some affection. The blonde indulged her and scratched her behind her ear. Jo seemed happy as a clam. The ME put her down and went to give her some food. She also poured for Maura and herself two tall glasses of water. They drank it at the kitchen counter. It felt good to be out of the hospital, at last.

"So," Jane trailed, playing with her empty glass. "What now?"

Maura looked at her questioningly.

"You realize we have a week off, right?"

"Oh," the blonde answered, suddenly realizing the mere fact. "That's right."

"So, what are you going to do?"

"I haven't really thought about it," the Detective said thoughtfully. "What are you going to do?"

"Well, first I'm going to sleep those two full days Frankie prescribed us. Then I don't know. Nothing much, I guess. I may catch up on a few science articles I've been wanting to read. Nothing too interesting. We are grounded after all."

"We are not grounded. We are not children, Jane."

"Damn right feels like it, though."

"I guess it does."

Jane theatrically brought her palm to her chest with her mouth open in a wide 'O'.

"You _guess_? Maura! How _dare_ your?"

The blonde laughed.

"Oh, shut up."

"And now you insult me. I am shocked. Beyond shocked. Your mouth is filthy and your manners are dirty, young miss."

Maura cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Really? My mouth is filthy?"

Jane turned a dark shade of red upon realizing the double entendre, instantly losing her character. This time the blonde laughed heartily.

"I think we really need some sleep. Could I have a blanket for the couch?"

"The couch? Really, Maur? Come on, you're sleeping in my bed."

"And where are _you_ sleeping?"

"In my bed too. Or on the couch if I find you smell too much."

"Funny," Maura said, squinting her eyes.

"I'm going to take a shower first. I want to shake that hospital smell off of me."

"That's a good idea."

"Go first, I'll go find something of mine that you can wear."

"I actually left some of my clothes in your closet."

_How convenient_, Jane thought.

"Alright. Go then, I'll lock up and check my emails."

Maura nodded and went to Jane's bathroom. The Italian listened to the quiet footsteps of her friend going into her room, opening the closet, staying there a few seconds then go in the bathroom. There was the sound of the door being shut but the locked remained unused. Jane smiled knowingly.

It was a habit they had adopted a few years ago. Maura had been hurt a few times on the job. Some of these injuries had been serious enough for her to require assistance in everyday tasks, and the assistance usually came in the form of a very professional and attentive Jane. It was one of their many ways to take care of each other and be sure the other was safe. Unlocked bathroom doors, reachable cellphones at any time of the day and night, short messages to say there had gotten home safely. Little things that had slowly made their way into their life as indelible habits.

Jane heard the shower start to run and she paused a minute, leaning on the kitchen counter with her elbows. Maura always looked like she felt home when she was at Jane's. The Italian had spent enough time at the Detective's house to know what a relaxed, comfortable Maura was like, so she knew her friend felt at ease here. To be true, Jane's apartment felt more like home when Maura was there. The ME smirked.

Home.

Home had changed into a whole new concept, somewhere between midnight and 3am, when Maura had been sleeping with her head safely resting on Jane's lap. Somehow, the brunette had felt home. Maura alive. Maura leaning on her. Maura looking at her with those eyes that saw right through her. In those moments only did she belong somewhere with extreme certainty.

With a sigh, Jane finally moved away from the kitchen. She locked her door, closed her windows and made a quick tour of her apartment out of habit. She saw her computer sitting on her coffee table but dismissed it. She would look at her emails later, after all she was off duty.

The water went off in the bathroom.

The Doctor prepared the bed for the night. She made sure the heat was on at the proper temperature and then fished for a tank top, shorts and panties in her closet. Maura came into the room when she was plugging her phone to recharge it.

"Bathroom is all yours," the blonde declared with a smile.

Jane saw her wet tangled hair, the freckles scattered on her clavicle revealed by the small cleavage of her pajama top, her weary but gleaming eyes, and her heart made a grandiose leap in her chest.

"Ok," was all she was able to mouth.

Completely oblivious to Jane's loss of words, the Detective went to her usual side on the bed where she found a bottle of water and aspirin. She smiled at her friend but she was already gone. Jane, Queen of the Dead, was a thoughtful and tender human being.

Maura slid under the covers with a long moan of pure pleasure. She had wanted to wait for Jane to sleep but she found it too hard to keep her eyes open. So she closed them, naturally, feeling safe and, somehow, happy.

Jane stepped out of the shower and quickly dried herself. She put her night clothes on and brushed her teeth before she went to the bedroom. Jo Friday followed her to get her goodnight kiss then scampered off to her basket in the living room.

Jane set the alarm for 6pm, which was an hour before Sunday dinner, and slid next to Maura in bed. The blonde smelled like her shampoo and soap. It made Jane's stomach do loops.

The ME yawned so hard she had tears in her eyes. Without further ado, she turned the light off and drifted to a well-deserved sleep with no dreams.

* * *

**A/N: Can you feel the Rizzles? So close you can taste it.**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: I'm back with another chapter! Sorry for the wait, I do think the content will make it up though ;)**  
**Again and as always, thank you for showing support, you are all amazing people who take the time to read and/or tell me about it. So thank you, and a very happy reading!**

* * *

The first thing Maura acknowledged when she woke up was the cocoon of fluff and warmth she was wrapped in.

The second thing was the silence and darkness. Lazily, she cracked an eye open to meet the sight of Jane's bedroom. The blinds weren't drawn but there was no light in the room, informing her that it must have been night or early morning. Near her was nothing but the ME's empty pillow on which she could still outline the shape of the brunette's head.

It was the third thing she acknowledged.

The Detective rose up to a sitting position and rubbed her eyes. She felt surprisingly rested.

Getting up for good, Maura went to use the bathroom and then made her way towards the kitchen. As was to be expected, Jane was there, sitting at the counter, holding a cup of coffee with both her hands. She looked up at Maura with a welcoming smile.

"Hey," she greeted her with her raspy voice. "How are you feeling?"

"Very rested. What time is it?"

The Doctor smirked and pointed at the clock of her microwave with her thumb.

It read 6:14am.

Maura looked baffled.

"How long have I slept?"

"It is April 11th, year 2027. You slept more than a decade, Maura."

The blonde stared at Jane with an expression that was a mix between annoyance and amusement. The Italian burst out in laughter.

"I absolutely corroborate the fact that you resemble a Disney character when you wake up," she managed to say when her laughing calmed down. "You slept 14 hours straight."

"Wow."

"It's still less than a third of the 2 days you were supposed to have."

"I did need a good night of sleep. What about you? Did you manage to have some rest?"

"I did. I woke up a little before the alarm for Ma's dinner but judging by how your eyelids were fluttering you were deep in your REM cycle so I decided to let you sleep some more. I called Ma to tell her we couldn't come then had something to eat and went back to bed. I woke up not too long ago this morning, after you stole the covers from me."

"Did I? I'm sorry, Jane," Maura genuinely apologized.

"It's fine, I tried to take them back but you have a pretty strong grip for a tiny human. I blame the Academy training and your ridiculous survival instinct in situations of coldness. But it's not important. What's important is that there is fresh coffee, and pancakes and toasts to come. Come on, sit. You need to eat something after sleeping all this time."

Maura smiled and helped Jane setting the table while the Italian was baking the pancakes mix that her mother had made for her to keep in the freezer. Jane looked at Maura out of the corner of her eye in-between pouring doses of mix on the pan. The blonde was humming to herself as she looked on the shelves and in the drawers for what she needed.

Jane had had a lot of speedy mornings, stressful mornings, late mornings, mornings that were only the continuity of a night that had never ended, so she knew how pleasant it was to actually have time to enjoy the calmness of a fresh new day. But it was nothing in compare to the kind of morning she was having right now.

She looked at Maura and saw home. The nonsense melody she was singing sounded better than any birds chirping. The feel of the blonde's gaze on her when she thought she couldn't see it was better than any sun of ray peeking through the window. The smile that she gave her whenever their eyes met screamed happiness more than any of those times she had tried to convince herself she was fine. Maura was a pure streak of joyin her life. There was a time she had not been aware of this, and still to this day she wondered how she could have been so blind.

But she knew now. She was past the point of fear and unsureness. Now was for the future. Now was the second before the storm. She had a chance and she knew she had to take it.

So she waited for the meal to be ready, she waited for Maura to have eaten a little and for the coffee to have partly plastered the nervous holes in her stomach, and she stared at her as if to silently ask for attention. As on cue, the blonde raised her head and met her eyes quizzically. She titled her head on the side, the way it made Jane melt a little inside.

Her heart was pounding in her ribcage, on the verge of tearing its way out of her chest. Her mind felt blank. But the hazel eyes, those glorious hazel eyes, kept her grounded.

Slowly, as if any brisk movement could frighten Maura, the ME put her spoon down and crossed her fingers together on the table.

"Can we talk?" she asked with a calm she was far from actually feeling.

Maura frowned. "Of course."

"I have something to tell you."

The look on Maura's face was worried. Jane felt like backing out but she scolded herself; she had to talk and she had to talk now. So she took all of the courage she could summon and talked.

"I've been aware of something for some time now. I wasn't ready to tell you until recently. Honestly it's the whole Doyle thing that made me realize I had to be honest with you. I don't know if it's the right thing to do but I know I have to. I can't pretend to act or be like someone I'm not."

"Jane, you are starting to worry me," Maura said, frowning even more.

"You know you are my best friend and I care about you," the brunette continued speaking to not lose her courage. "You are family to me, the way I didn't know family could feel like. Which is exactly why I need to tell you. I hope you can understand me and, if it makes you uncomfortable in any way, I will do my best to not let it affect our friendship."

"Are you secretly a murderer?" the blonde tried to joke. "Is that what you're trying to tell me? Because I can help you hide the body."

"I love you."

Maura made a surprised face but didn't seem taken aback. After all, it wasn't anything new; Jane had a lot of ways to show her affection without actually saying the words. It was what the brunette stated next that made Maura stare at the vague direction of the ME, wide eyes and speechless.

"I am also in love with you."

Five seconds of silence passed. Ten seconds. The Detective's face didn't move an inch.

"Maura?" Jane called out.

The blonde's eyes finally seemed to focus on her friend. Jane registered something that looked like panic and immediately reacted.

"Hey, hey," she said softly, getting up and coming around the kitchen island to face Maura directly.

She took the blonde's hands in hers and made her pivot on the stool of the counter.

"Please don't freak out."

"I was not expecting this," the Detective stated with a surprising calm.

"I know it's a pretty huge bomb, but I needed to tell you."

"It's not that odd, actually. In a lot of ways the behavior you have been having around me would be in agreement with you being in love with me. It's just… sudden. And I certainly didn't see it coming, although now I wonder how I could not have."

"It took me a long time too to realize I was in love with you so don't beat yourself up."

"Are you sure?"

"I am pretty confident, yes."

Maura stared at Jane with a thoughtful look.

"I haven't made any scientific experiment to prove it if that's what you are going to ask. Usually you look at me like that right before you ask me to run a batch of tests on a corpse."

"Why?" she asked with a faint voice.

"Why what?"

"Why are you in love with me? I am not… I am just… me." The blonde said those last words with a disconcerted expression, gesturing her hands up and down at her general figure.

It was the Doctor's turn to be taken aback. Then, out of nowhere, she burst out in laughteragain.

"How could I not? You are a clever, successful, proud, independent woman who is badass and fragile in the most beautiful way. You care about people the way no one else does. You give so much and you receive so little. How could I not love you? How could I not love the way you make me feel? You make me feel like home. You make me feel good in all the places I didn't know I ached. You look at me like I exist. You trust me. You listen to me. You welcome me in your life as if I had it granted even though there is no way I could have deserved it. I love you for letting me be me. I love all the things that make you a superhero and I love all of the things that make you human. Flaws and qualities. I love it all. How could I not?"

The Italian had said those last words in a whisper, trying to keep her emotions at bay.

Maura had made herself a personal promise to stop crying whenever she felt emotional – she had shed way too many tears lately – but she had not planned on Jane to say any of those things. She looked at her best friend, teary eyes, and the resistances that had been on the verge of cracking when Jane had come to find her at the hospital finally ceded.

She started crying uncontrollably and hid her face in her hands, effectively taking them back from Jane's soft grip.

"Oh my God, Maura, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I didn't want to make you cry. Shit, I'm sorry."

The brunette heard her friend hiccup something intelligible between heavy sobs but couldn't make out what it was. She wanted to hug Maura to make her feel better but she looked at her like she was a porcelain doll that she could break in one too strong embrace. The ME tried to take a peek between her friend's hand to have a look at her face, in vain. The scene would have been comic in other circumstances, Jane bending in all different positions to see through Maura's hands.

"Maur?"

The ugly sob the Detective let out after hearing her nickname made Jane react instinctively. Her two arms automatically wrapped themselves around the other woman's frame and she pressed the blonde's head against her chest. Maura reacted as intuitively, clutching at the brunette tone body and burying her face in the crook of her neck where the salt of wet tears mingled with the musky scent of her best friend.

"I'm sorry, Maura," Jane soothed her.

"D-don't ap-pologize," the Detective managed to articulate.

"I didn't want to make you cry."

"I think I'm just a l-little emotional over everything that hap-happened."

"It's okay. Studies have actually proven that crying is a natural mechanism against foreign emotions-"

"Don't go googlemouth on me, Jane," Maura's muffled voice said.

"Sorry."

"God, stop apologizing," the blonde commanded, distancing herself from the safe haven of Jane's neck to look up at her.

The Doctor's current loving and hurt gaze was not what she had been expecting. How could she not have seen it? How could she not have understood how much love Jane had actually been giving her?

Maura put her palms on either side of her friend's face.

"Stop apologizing."

Something in the way Jane's arms tighten around her made her heart dissolve inside of her. She had been there and suddenly she was not. She was Jane. She was with Jane. She was the racing pulse under the tip of her fingers and the unsteady breathe Jane drew. She was the arms holding her close. She was the lips that she loved so much when they smiled.

Lips.

Suddenly it was all she felt. Jane had bent a little more, just enough to press her mouth to the Detective's. Unlike anything else. A feeling worth dying for.

The moment the brunette separated herself from her friend and rested her forehead on hers, Maura knew she was lost forever. She wrapped her arms around the Italian's neck and hugged her hard. She needed to feel her warmth around her. It was Jane's turn to hide in the soft skin of the blonde's neck.

"God, I love you. I love you so much," she repeated like a prayer, concealed from the world, surrounded by Maura and lost in the feeling.

Her hands traveled the way up Maura's back. She wanted to feel all of her. She needed to know it was her. She had had fantasies of this moment, oh so many fantasies, and she needed to know this was happening. She needed to know this was real.

Jane separated herself just enough of Maura to kiss her. Her eyes asked _can I_, Maura's eyes said _please_.

She did.

It was fire and water. It was cooling her soul and burning her lips. It was so good it could have hurt. But it didn't. It felt right. It felt too much and not enough.

They were kissing and then they were not kissing but it felt like they hadn't parted.

"We have lost so much time…" the blonde said, looking at Jane with a sad expression.

"I love you," the Doctor simply said.

She kissed the corner of her mouth.

"I should have know, long ago…"

"I love you."

Jane brushed a streak of hair behind the Detective's ear and caressed the delicate skin there, letting her fingers trace the prefect outlines of Maura's throat.

"I don't know if I can… love you rightly. I'm… I have darkness inside."

"I love you."

Jane was stroking Maura's collarbone.

"Jane…"

At the mention of her name, the brunette plunged her eyes in the hazel ones.

"I-," the blonde started.

"Sh-," Jane hushed.

Her brown eyes found Maura's and it was the love in them that made the Detective calm down.

"I love you," the Italian repeated.

The blonde took the time to draw every bit of affection she could from Jane's strong gaze.

The few words that went through her mouth then were barely a breathe, but they did something to her. The Doctor saw Maura's face suddenly relax and lighten. The blonde repeated more clearly.

"I love you."

There was no going back and Jane never wanted to go back.

She laughed. Jane laughed because she had been so scared and hurt and now Maura was telling her she loved her and nothing, nothing in her life, had ever felt so right.

Maura smiled and startled the brunette from her laughter by grabbing the back of her neck and kissing her hard.

The few minutes that followed were a continuous string of I-love-you's and giggling and kissing and body grabbing and more kissing, always kissing, forever kissing. Maura squealed when Jane grabbed her butt and lifted her in her arms. The blonde wrapped her legs around the impressively strong torso. Those workout sessions after work did pay off rather nicely.

"Let's have sexual intercourse," Jane said with a mischievous smile.

"Jane! Don't call it that!" Maura said.

"I want to make love to you," the brunette repeated.

Maura smiled fully.

"Please," she said against the Doctor's lips.

She felt Jane's smile against hers and it felt the way happiness does.

The ME maneuvered them to her bedroom, only bumping a few times against Maura or herself against the walls or furniture. Maura laughed some more when the brunette crashed both of them on her bed.

"Ow, ow, Jane, my breast," the blonde laughed. "You're crushing my breast."

"Shit, sorry, Maur, "she laughed. "Here."

Jane lifted Maura's top and tried to hide her smug face when she hear the blonde gasp. She kissed Maura's left boob.

"Better?" the brunette asked.

The Detective was obviously flustered. Jane knew sexual arousal when she saw it.

"It was the other one," Maura said shyly, pointing at her right breast.

"Oh, my bad."

The Doctor proceeded to kiss better the other one and got a carried away nipping at the supple flesh of Maura's bosom. The blonde's breathe started to sound labored.

She took her top off while Jane was lost in the feeling of her exposed cleavage. Maura took Jane's face between her hands and brought her up for a long, languid kiss.

The ME couldn't help the moan that ripped its way out of her throat.

Clothes went flying around the room as Jane and Maura undressed themselves and each other. When they were both left with nothing but their glorious nakedness, they looked at each other with a smile that told much about how tuned-on they both were.

Next thing Maura knew, she was lying down on the bad with Jane on top of her, her tongue doing the most exquisite ballet inside of her mouth. When air was needed, Jane continued kissing Maura. The corner of her mouth, her jawline, her throat that went vibrating in a delicious way when the blonde moaned. She kissed her collarbone, the top of her breast, then wrapped her lips around the blonde's nipple and sucked on it lightly.

The Detective inhaled sharply at the feeling. No matter where Jane touched her – and boy, did she know where to – it went sending little sparks of electricity in her body.

The Italian seemed to have lost track of time. She spent an eternity worshiping Maura's greatest attributes until the blonde was writhing under her. The brunette heard her whimper and it brought her back to reality.

She place one last kiss on each now almost rigid peak and slid up to kiss the Detective. At the contact of the Italian mouth on hers, Maura wrapped her arms around her neck and did nothing but devour the brunette.

Jane's left hand stroked the skin around the blonde's breast and on her flank, then descended to find her hips. She went around to grab the other woman's butt and came in front again to continue its journey until she found Maura's trimmed curls. The brunette felt the Detective shiver under her. She looked into her eyes for an approval that clearly was not needed at this point. The blonde gave it anyway with a shaky _please_ that made all of the Doctor's Italian blood rush down south.

Jane entered her with one finger and found Maura easily accepting her. She slipped out completely before returning with two fingers, making her way slowly inside. The blonde's back arched a little more with every added inch of Jane. The brunette continued pushing inside Maura's welcoming warmth all the way until she couldn't remember where her fingers started and where Maura's entrance did.

The Detective was squirming under her, drawing shaky breathe that sometimes turned into moans and sometimes sounded like the Italian's name. Mostly it was a low growl. Raw. Primal. Jane didn't think she had ever heard something so beautiful.

Maura was pure lust, from head to toes. Her skin was glistening with sweat, her chest heaving, her hair messy. The muscles under the pale skin of her abdomen were twitching with expectation. Her hands grabbed at the sheets like her life depended on it.

That's when Jane curved the tip of her fingers inside Maura.

"Jesus!" the ME distinctively heard before the blonde lost herself in a dissembled sequence of groans. Brief mentions of uncatholic expressions filtered through her parted lips as Jane continued to work her magic. Thank God for her anatomical knowledge.

Through her sex induced haze, the Detective suddenly felt Jane's warm kiss in the inside of her tight – Jane had somehow moved and was not situated between her legs. She forced her eyes open to look down and see a dark mane perched on a very smug face. The brunette was obviously very pleased with herself. Probably not as pleased as Maura currently, that was.

With a shiver of anticipation, the blonde saw Jane's mouth slowly travel towards her center. When the ME's hot tongue came in contact with her clit, she couldn't hold a loud cry and her head shot back into the pillow behind her. One of her hand came to Jane's head, holding the tangled brown locks in hopes of a contact with something connected to reality. Maura felt the tension built inside of her with the strength of a seism.

She lost sensation of anything that wasn't Jane. The sound of her fingers pumping in and out of her, the occasional moan she left out when tasting her, the impossible warmth between her legs. The blonde's free hand unconsciously started a slow descent where her other hand was in Jane's hair but finally simply rested on her own stomach. She could feel her muscles go crazy already. She knew she was close.

While continuing her motion with her left fingers, Jane used her free arm to hold Maura's pelvis down, keeping in place the blonde that had started to grind on the ME's face. Jane found the other woman's hand and just put hers on top, lacing their fingers together and pushing Maura's pelvis flat against the mattress.

The blonde clang to Jane's hand as everything suddenly started and stopped at once. For a brief moment that stretched in time until notions of both time and space were completely lost, all she could hear was the beast-like growl she let out, all she could feel was the continuous loud rumble in her throat and, more than anything else, the overwhelming pleasure that coursed through her whole body.

That was certainly what drugs felt like. Or dying and immediately going to Heaven.

For the longest time, Maura felt like her body was floating somewhere between the burning sheets under her naked form and Nirvana.

When the waves of pleasure subsided, the blonde's body went slick with exhaustion. Never in her life had she been so tired and content. It was a wonderful feeling. Almost as wonderful as Jane kissing her way up her boneless body.

When the brunette's face presumably was at her level, Maura blindly reached for her, hearing the ME chuckle over her. The blonde felt a sloppy kiss on her lips and instinctively tried to keep their mouth in contact when the other woman started to pull out, which earned herself another laugh from the brunette.

She took her time tasting herself on Jane's lips, glad to feel the ME moan against her. When she finally withdrew, the blonde cracked an eye open and could not help produce her special 'Jane smile'.

The familiar chocolate eyes were humid with tears, a sight Maura had not been expecting. She placed her hands on either side of Jane's face and brushed the underside of her eyes with her thumbs. The ME slightly turned her head to kiss one of Maura's hands.

"I love you," she husked, her voice deeper than usual. "A lot."

"I love you too," the blonde whispered, equally emotional. "Now let me show you how much. Up."

The ME raised her eyebrows. It took Jane approximately half a second to understand what the woman was asking. The Detective saw the exact moment Jane fully processed her request.

"Up," she repeated with a commanding tone. "I can't move my arms or legs properly but there is one other muscle that works fine."

Jane emitted a sound halfway between a gulp and a grunt and sat up, straddling the blonde.

Maura took the opportunity to let her hands wander on the exposed skin. She slightly scratched her nails against Jane's stomach, making her hiss and moaning herself when she felt the tight muscles underneath. When she reached the brunette's perky breasts, she covered them fully and massaged them with slow circular motions. Jane loudly exhaled and started grinding on Maura's abdomen when the Detective rolled her nipples between her index and her thumb.

Maura moved one hand to the back of Jane's neck and brought the ME's lips to hers to engage in a sloppy kiss. With a pull on Jane's hips, the blonde signified her to sit up again. The brunette did just that and bit her lower lip, brown eyes fixated on hazel ones.

Slowly, she scooted on her knees until her center was right above the blonde's face. She heard Maura take a long breathe, smelling her most intimate fragrance, and shivered in anticipation. On a tug from the Detective, she lowered herself slowly while Maura hooked her arms around Jane's tights.

The first pass of Maura's tongue along her slick slit caused her to let out a powerful moan.

"Jesus Christ," she cried out as she firmly gripped the headboard.

Apparently the Detective's skills largely exceeded her cop ones and had gladly invited themselves in the bedroom. In a matter of minutes, Jane was panting, gasping and searching for air.

"Hmmmm," the ME rumbled when Maura changed yet again the pattern of her tongue, trying to maintain her vocal appreciation to a minimum.

Only, Maura didn't want Jane to be quiet.

"Fuck, Maura!" the brunette yelled when the Detective started to suck on her clit. Her knuckles were white because of how hard she was gripping the headboard. "Oh, shit", she exclaimed again when the blonde plunged her warm tongue inside of her.

The ME knew there was no way back now. Not that there had been any before, but she could feel the heat building inside of her and her insides clenching.

With one hand firm around Jane's left tight, Maura used her right hand to replace her tongue with two fingers. This caused another series of 'fuck', 'oh my God' and 'Maura' that ended in an intelligible string of bestial sounds when she sucked Jane's clit again.

The brunette's orgasm was as strong as Maura's. She shamelessly grinded her pussy on the Detective's face, one hand holding on to the headboard so tight it was probably leaving an imprint, the other one lost in the blonde's silky hair.

Jane thought her climax would never end but it finally subsided. When Maura withdrew her fingers and kissed one last time her still pulsing clit, she let herself fall gracelessly on the side and let out a long, shaky breathe.

She mumbled something in the disordered sheets that the Detective didn't understand.

"What?"

"I said holy fucking shit you're a genius," Jane repeated more clearly.

"Says the doctor with extended knowledge in female anatomy. Do you think you could move that heavy bottom of yours from my legs and be my big spoon?"

"You should talk to Frost and tell him that my ass is fat."

"I don't see how Barry is in any way related to what I just said."

"Never mind", the ME grunted, moving her body with great effort.

She rolled on her back, leaving space for Maura to settle in her favorite sleeping position, curled up on her side – something countless sleepovers had taught Jane. When the blonde stopped wiggling, the Italian woman moved to her side and molded her body against Maura's. With a sigh of pure satisfaction, she nuzzled the skin of the blonde's neck still slick with sweat and deposited the lightest kiss behind her ear. The Detective searched for Jane's hand behind her and brought it around her waist, securing the brunette's arm between her bare breasts – much to Jane's delight.

No matter how long they had slept before, it didn't take them long to fall asleep yet again, wrapped up around each other, exhausted and content.

* * *

**A/N: And there it is, the Rizzles you've all been waiting for! Hope it was worth it =)**

**So, this story is reaching its end, for what I had in mind at least. I'll make it last a little more (after all our ladies have a whole week to enjoy). I may or may not make another story that will be from this Alternate Universe but maybe won't follow the plot from where it will end here. I don't know yet. If you have opinions on the matter please feel free to share through comments or PM =)**

**You have a wonderful weekend, dear awesome people.**


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